Cherry Blossoms in the Wind
by WanderingRurouni
Summary: -This is the sequel to "Blossoming in Blood and Tears." It will be a continuous episodic story concerning Naruto and Sakura after her confession, and his acceptance. In my own words, an Episodic Salad with the occasional handful of lemon zest. Now in a "Choose your own Adventure" style format!
1. Returning Home

A rather short writing, because I didn't really know what else I could write, and I didn't want to add random occurrences just to arbitrarily make it longer. This'll be one long, ongoing story, because I really didn't like the idea of dropping continuity to come up with one-shots over and over again.

Some things to assume for the sake of the plot:

1) If I never mention a character, they most likely won't make an appearance.

2) Yes, that means major bad guys like Sasuke and Akatsuki will (most likely) never enter these stories.

3) The characters are no longer children, whatever the legal drinking age is for your country/state/province/prefecture (etc.) is how old these characters are. Reserved for possible scenarios in later chapters.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy.

**CHAPTER RATING: T**

* * *

**Episode 1: Returning Home**

"Ah, there it is!" Yamato called out. "Everyone, we've reached Konoha!" as the team approached the giant gates carved with the symbol of the Hidden Leaf. Kakashi, Karin, Yamato, Sakura and Naruto had reached Konoha after several days of travel. Naruto and Sakura stayed a few paces behind the rest of the group; their hands clasped together as Sakura held on to Naruto's arm. Naruto slightly tensed and turned his head to face her.

"…Should we let everyone know…?" Sakura's eyes widened at the thought for a moment as she wondered how everyone would react.

"It's none of their business is it?" she questioned

"I suppose not." Naruto replied.

"Then let's just keep it between us, there's no need to let people know, when they don't need to know." She stated as her eyes met his, her mind flowing back to that night where she had revealed to him her true feelings. He smiled and nodded in understanding. Slowly she pulled away, letting their hands slip apart as slow as possible to ensure that their physical embrace lasted as long as it could in the open.

"Alright, Naruto, Sakura, good work, Yamato and I will take this girl to the Intelligence Division for interrogation. You two can take a break, you've earned it." Kakashi said. Naruto and Sakura nodded. They started to walk together and unknowingly; started to move closer to each other.

"Sakura!" a voice called out from behind them as they turned around.

"Oh, Ino." Sakura acknowledged. Naruto made a motion to create more space between himself and Sakura.

"When did you get back?" Ino asked. "Everyone's been waiting for you two."

"Everyone?" Naruto asked. Ino nodded and motioned for them to follow her.

"We were all wondering what had happened? Did anything interesting occur while you were on this mission?"

"No, not really." Sakura replied. Naruto gave her an nervous smile as they continued to walk.

"This," Ino pointed to a building "is the new 'Ichiraku BARBE-Q' restaurant that was rebuilt by the architects that Tsunade-sama contracted. Come on, let's go inside. There's a special surprise for you two." Naruto and Sakura looked at each other with puzzled expressions on their faces. Ino approached the door and slid it open.

Naruto and Sakura's eyes widened in surprise, their mouths open with joy. Before them stood the other members of the original Konoha 11, Shikamaru, Chouji, Rock Lee, Tenten, Neji, Hinata, Shino and Kiba. Everyone cheered as they entered the restaurant.

"We pooled our money together and rented out this special area, just for us." In the back of the restaurant, there was a long dining table, complete with in-laid grills. Everyone gathered around and started ordering food. To say that it was one enjoyable homecoming would be an understatement.

Together, the 11 shinobi enjoyed each other's company for hours, revisiting childhood memories, recalling the Chuunin Exams, and reminiscing about some of the most ludicrous encounters that they had ever experienced.

"Bushy-brows! Don't you remember the 'Curry of Life?' It was the funniest thing I have ever seen you do, and you still kicked ass!" Naruto enthusiastically recalled to Rock Lee. Tenten let out a few chuckles and even Neji managed to form a small smile on his lips.

"Hmm, I don't seem to remember that." Rock Lee answered back.

"That's because you were drunk off your ass!" Naruto shouted as the entire table roared in laughter. "…And Shino, do you remember when you were stricken with that drug that made you lau-"

"I told you to forget it." Shino interrupted.

"Ah…ah, t-that's right. I-I don't remember anymore." Naruto replied.

Hours passed, and as the moon started to rise in the sky, they gradually emptied out of the restaurant. Naruto and Sakura exited the building last, in the quiet of the night; they walked silently under the yellow moon. In the moonlight, they embraced each other, as their shadows formed into one. Naruto simply spoke two words that echoed through their hearts, deeply comforting them.

"..We're home."


	2. Initiative

Lemon up ahead.

...I can't say that every chapter will ever be this long.

Give me one week to come up with Episode 3

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy.

**CHAPTER RATING: M**

* * *

**Episode 2:** **Initiative**

Sakura's eyes slowly opened as the sun's light shined onto her face. Her hands moved up as she rubbed her eyes to clear them. She stood up and walked towards the bathroom to get ready. As she was getting dressed she heard a knock on the door, as quickly as she could, but in no real rush, she headed over and opened it.

"Ino? What are you doing here?" she asked. Ino gave her a confused look.

"Don't you remember? Tsunade-sama is going to teach us a new technique today.I figured we could go together to see her. What do you say?" Sakura nodded and stepped out the door.

…

Naruto sat at a table in the library, books were scattered around. His facial expression a mixture of exhaustion and frustration as his head dropped and sunk into the book he was currently looking through "_Initiative: How to Make the First Move."_ He sat, face down, staring into the illegible words that were blurred due to proximity.

_Combat?_ He thought. _But it's nothing like combat! Sure, there's physical contact, but it isn't…_ His mind trailed off as he sat in quiet with his mind recalled those events, that passion and those sensations that he just couldn't forget.

"Naruto? Why are you here?" a voice came

"Oh, hey Sai, I was just looking through some books…about taking the initiative…in combat…books about strategies to use on missions a-and combat." Naruto said without raising his head. Sai looked at Naruto with a puzzled expression.

"It's not like you to study up on things like strategy. Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong. Things have just changed…in a big way, too." Naruto quickly said without thinking, his eyes shot open at the implication that he may have just made. But damn it, his mind was so exhausted that both his thought and language filters were nearly drained of all control.

"I see." Sai said in an understanding tone while nodding his head. He moved to sit across from Naruto "May I sit down?" he asked. Naruto nodded, rubbing his face against the pages of the book as Sai took his seat. Sai silently looked through his book, occasionally looking up at Naruto.

"Naruto, as your friend…I'm here for you when you need help." Sai started, Naruto's head was motionless. "Do you remember that conversation we had a few weeks back."

"Not really." Naruto replied quickly in a sluggish tone, his face still buried in the pages of the book. A few minutes of awkward silence passed before Sai spoke again.

"It's about Sakura isn't it?"

"Yeah…" Naruto's eyes widened in surprise. His face left the book as he brought his head up and looked at Sai. "How did you know?!" he urgently asked. Sai held up a book called "_How to read someone like how you're reading this book."_

"Your tone of voice, although in the anguish of confusion also has a hint of happiness." Sai said as he smiled. "And as you just admitted, you were thinking of Sakura." Naruto gave an uneasy smile to Sai. "The last conversation we had-" Sai started "-was about how you loved Sakura. Every time you are with her, I see a genuine happiness in you, as if she was the world to you. She is the air you breathe, she is what sustains you and holds you to this Earth."

Naruto lifted his eyebrow, both in realization and confusion. Sai was right, he did feel that way about Sakura, she is what he looked forward to every day. Every time he saw her, his day became better, every moment he thought about her, he became happier.

"Sai, where did you come up with that?" Naruto asked.

"Oh that? This." Sai held up another book entitled: _"1,000 metaphors to her heart."_

Naruto looked at him in shock and then started to laugh, soon before they knew it, they were both laughing in joy.

"Sai!" Naruto said enthusiastically, "Thank you."

…

"Come on! Tell me! I know something happened while you were on that mission!" Ino loudly asked as she wrapped her arm around Sakura's neck. Sakura roughly brushed her off.

"It's none of your business." She replied, slightly annoyed.

"Okay, are you both ready?" Shizune asked them in a sincere tone. Both Ino and Sakura nodded. "Pay attention." Shizune continued "This is a very important technique to medical shinobi." Shizune pointed to a medical mannequin used to demonstrate abilities. It was in the shape of an average sized human being. A motor was centered in the left side of the chest, pumping water throughout the entirety of the model.

"As you both know, blood flows throughout the human body." Shizune placed her hands on the mannequin, a green glow started to emit from them as she continued to explain. "If you focus your chakra on an area, you can actually control the flow of blood within an individual. You can even obstruct the flow, stopping it completely."

As she explained, Ino and Sakura noticed that it almost seemed as if an invisible wall had formed where Shizune's hands were; looking at the model, the water that had been present in the forearm before Shizune had applied pressure was stagnant and no longer moving. The other stream of water flowed without obstruction. Shizune then took her left hand, while still holding the "wall" in place and moved it the mannequin's forearm. With another movement, she began to move the stagnant pool of water and gently let it reintegrate into the original stream. This time, there was no longer any "blood" in the forearm.

"Do you understand?" She asked the two. They nodded in astonishment. "But that's not all you can do with it." Shizune continued. She pulled out a syringe filled with a purple liquid, and inserted it into the mannequin. The liquid immediately started to follow the stream of water and headed toward the "heart" of the mannequin.

"What did you just put into it, Shizune-san?" Ino asked.

"Food Coloring" Shizune replied. Ino's face caught a brief flash of confusion.

"Poison." Sakura clarified.

"Precisely." Shizune answered back. "As you can see, when poison enters the blood stream, it starts to spread throughout the body immediately. This is also a major advantage to this technique. You can gather any poison that has accumulated in the body. But you must be sure to move across the entirety of the body, and do it quickly to pick up all small traces of the poison that spread throughout the body. If you take too long, you will be holding onto too much blood, and may cause problems with the body's circulation process.

Sakura and Ino both nodded. Shizune quickly and steadily moved her glowing hands around the entire mannequin, both noted that below her hand, a mass of purple liquid started to collect, and the areas behind where her hand were starting to become clear again. Shizune moved her hand back to the original spot where she had injected the poison.

"If the original wound that caused the poison is still present, that is the safest place to extract it." Shizune once again established the invisible wall to isolate the simulated poison. Slowly, she moved her hand up vertically, and the purple food coloring slowly exited the body through the original syringe entry point.

"It is important to use this technique as quickly as you can, before any of the poison has any chance of doing real damage to the body." She looked at Sakura and Ino, who nodded to reassure their understanding.

"The original entry point is the best place to extract the poison. If that is not an option, then you can extract through the patient's mouth-"

Shizune said as she pointed to the mannequin's throat.

"-or in the least favorable scenario, directly through the skin. This technique is also used to stop major wounds from bleeding out, but it is only a temporary means in emergency situations. After the bleeding has been controlled, it's best to apply a tourniquet as a long term resolution to the problem, and then we can heal it regularly. Understood?"

"Yes! Shizune-san!" They both eagerly replied.

In the middle of the training session, Kakashi entered the room and motioned to Sakura.

"Follow me; Tsunade-sama wants to see you." Sakura stopped what she was doing and began to follow Kakashi to Tsunade's office.

"Shut the door." Tsunade commanded. With her back still turned she asked, "Sakura…is it true?" Sakura looked dumbfounded, and gave a glance to Kakashi, who merely shrugged his shoulders, more dismissive than concerned.

"I-is what true? Tsunade-sama?" Tsunade turned and looked at Sakura. Her face was stern.

"Are you in a relationship with Naruto?" She asked sincerely. Sakura shot a look of disbelief at Kakashi, who closed his eyes, lowered his head and took a deep breath.

Afraid at what her reaction would be, Sakura lowered her own head and answered with a barely audible "…yes." Tsunade started to approach her. Sakura felt as if every footstep her master took was the result of a tree in the forests of Konoha falling to the ground. It seemed as if the ground shook violently every time her foot came down.

Tsunade raised her hand as Sakura braced for impact. But Sakura felt something she did not expect. Instead of being struck, she felt an embrace; her face became red with the unexpected hug of her master.

"t-Tsunade-sama?" Sakura asked.

"I knew you'd make the right choice," Tsunade said as she took a step back. "If there's one thing that we can be sure of," Tsunade started as she smiled at Sakura. "It's that he will protect you, and keep you safe, even if it costs him his life." She said with great pride in her voice, as she recalled how Naruto had saved her, when it could have ended his life.

"Take care of him, and look after him. Keep him close, you'll never be the same once you lose him…Don't make the same mistake I did." She said with a tone of finality while she turned around. Sakura nodded in understanding, as she started to exit the room; and while it wasn't made obvious, she knew that her master was in tears.

…

Naruto was at his house, with nothing in particular present in his mind. He lay on his couch, staring at his ceiling, letting his mind wander.

"I'm so bored…I've got nothing to do when I don't have a mission." His mind wandered to the point where his eyelids became heavy, and he fell asleep as the sun began to set.

A knock on his door woke him up. In the dark of night, he tried his best to navigate his way through the pitch black dark of his home while he headed toward the light switch.

"I'm on my way!" he said sleepily "Just give me a minute!" He rubbed his eyes and tried his best to smooth out the wrinkles in his shirt. He took a deep breath and straightened his posture. Opening his door, he was utterly surprised at what he saw.

"Hinata?! What are you doing here?!" he asked her.

"N-Naruto…I came to ask for your help…may I come in?" She replied while lowering her head.

"S-sure." He was tense and unsure, but at the same time, he didn't want to be rude or uninviting. He let her in, and stuck his head out, peeking left and right for anything that may be out of place. He saw nothing, and slowly withdrew back into his home.

She stood by him, waiting for some sort of direction on what to do. He looked at her, confused.

"Hinata?" he started "What's wrong? Come here, have a seat." He said as he pointed to the couch. She walked over and had a seat, her head still lowered and not visible. Naruto nonchalantly walked over and sat next to her. His back arched and his elbows rested on his knees as he leaned forward.

"So…what is it you needed help with, Hinata?" he asked as he turned his head. She did not face him, but kept her head down.

"A-actually, Naruto…I've never had the courage to tell you this, but ever since you came back." He could make out that she was visibly shaking. "I-I can't stop thinking about you...I love you, Naruto."

His eyes widened in surprise, and then relaxed as a smile found it's way to his lips. He extended his right hand and reached down to take hold of her chin. Once he took hold of her, he felt as if he'd never let go, and pulled her closer to him.

"N-Naruto…" she managed to whisper in a anxious tone.

He looked into her eyes as he spoke.

"I also have a confession to make," he moved in closer until their lips met. Her face became an even brighter red. "I've also always loved you, ever since you entered my sight, you have been my only light; you are what I live for." He moved in closer to her ear. "I've loved you from the very moment I saw you.."

"…Sakura-chan."

Hinata pushed him off and stood up in shock.

"S-Sakura-chan?!" She exclaimed. A smile stretched across Naruto's lips. His hands extended to take hers as he stood up. He grasped her hands with his strong grip and began to push her back, pinning her arms against the wall as he moved in closer.

"N-Naruto…We…we" she tried to protest. His lips came closer and interrupted her.

"'We aren't kids anymore' that's what you said, wasn't it?" She looked down, embarrassed, and then for a moment, he saw a smirk stretch across her lips. In an instant, she moved her leg behind his, tripping him and brought him to the ground.

His eyes closed at the brief pain he experienced, and then as he opened his eyes, he saw her face, the face that made him so happy,

Her eyes narrowed as she smiled.

"How did you know it was me?" She asked.

"Whenever Hinata talks to me, she calls me 'Naruto-kun', you are the only person who calls me 'Naruto'."

Her face moved down closer to him, as her right hand moved down his body.

"Do you know why I call you simply by your name?" she whispered into his ear.

"It's because…" Her hand was emitting a strong green glow.

"No one else…has ever been this close to you." He let out a silent moan as he felt his pants suddenly become tighter. As Sakura moved down to embrace his lips with hers, Naruto felt her hand slowly begin to undo his zipper. His sight became blurred as his eyes unfocused and his senses heightened. He felt every push and pull as her tongue intertwined with his. He let out a desperate gasp of air as she broke away.

"How does it feel?" She asked him with a smile; Naruto couldn't find the breath to reply. Sakura's hand started to move at the same speed as his heart rate. She brought her left hand and grasped onto his and guided it to her zipper; instinctively, he began to pull it down.

"S-Sakura-cha-" he tried to let out, she interrupted him with another ecstasy inducing kiss. His body vibrated as he hit his climax. Sakura brought her hands up and grasped his head with a firm grip, with their lips still joined; she pulled him up, and led him to the bedroom.

His eyes were still in a haze as he started to move down her body, slowly kissing every inch along the way; eyes closed, his head guided by the push of her strong, gentle, hands. He felt her warmth as he moved in closer.

Sakura's body shivered as he moved closer and closer, she could feel his breath upon her as her hands lost their grip on his golden hair. She felt his tongue brush against her underwear.

"N-Naruto!" she cried out, her legs shook as he used his tongue to move the fabric away;

"Sakura-chan." tremors of pleasure rang throughout her body with every syllable he spoke, a sensation of immense ecstasy came with every breath that he let out.

"A-Ah! Naruto!" she cried out as his tongue touched her. Her hands moved again and tightly grasped his hair. He could feel the heat radiating from her, bringing to him new life as he continued.

Gently, she pulled his hair and brought him to his feet; pulling him towards her, and kissed him again while falling back onto his bed. They both let out breaths of passion as they became one. Slowly, Naruto entered her, their hearts raced as he started to move faster. Sakura firmly wrapped her arms around his neck.

She pulled him closer as he continued to move. With her breath on his ear he heard a faint whisper between her deep breaths.

"H-hold me up." She mumbled. Naruto reached behind her and raised her into a vertical position. Sakura threw her head back in a deafening moan of pleasure as she felt herself sink deeper into him. Weakness then took Naruto's knees as he felt his climax. Her body simultaneously tensed as she pulled him closer and held on for dear life.

His knees buckled from the tension as he lost his footing and fell onto the bed. He turned his head and stared deeply into her teal eyes.

"I'll never leave you, Sakura-chan. Not until my dying breath." Sakura tightened her grip on his body and brought his lips to hers once again.

"Naruto…I'll never let you go. I'll be with you forever."


	3. Secrets

Give me One Week to come up with Episode 4

I can say that I had fun writing this one, yeah, the writer's block came in every now and then, but still, a perfect 2,400 words(including the title.)

See the Post-Script for some things that I've realized about my writing since I've been doing these.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy.

**CHAPTER RATING: T**

* * *

**Episode 3: Secrets**

Naruto sat up in his bed and took a minute to stretch. He looked to his side, but saw no one there. The bedside next to him didn't even seem to have been ruffled. Were last night's events all a dream? He then looked at himself, his shirt was still on, but his pants just seemed a little too loose for those events to have been a mere dream. He sat on his bed and wondered for a while. His wondering mind was stopped in its tracks when he heard Sakura's voice come from the kitchen.

"Naruto? Are you awake?" she asked.

He paused for a moment and thought '_it really did happen.'_ Then, gathering himself, he replied.

"Yeah, I'm awake."

She walked into his room with a bowl of ramen, toast, and a glass of milk.

"Breakfast." She said with a smile as she handed him a tray.

"T-Thank you" he replied, both appreciative, and reluctant. He started to gratefully eat the food, and in the middle of the meal, Sakura spoke up.

"Naruto…we need to talk." The noodles hanging on the back of his throat nearly choked him.

_"Oh no_! _THIS…this is the dreaded 'it's not you, it's me' talk that people have when they are about to break up! Why did this have to happen? Was I too aggressive last night? Did she not like how I moved on 'Hinata'? How do I handle this situation?! What am I going to do? HELP ME Ero-Sennin!" _

"W-what is it?" Naruto managed to stutter; his face the overflowing with worry.

"We need to talk about…us." Sakura continued. He started to sweat pearls. "Do you remember what we said about our relationship when we first came back?"

"Y-yeah." He replied in a shaking voice.

"Apparently, Kakashi told Tsunade-sama." Sakura said in a low, depressed tone. "…and last night was a test that she wanted you to take." Naruto eased his posture momentarily.

"...Did I pass?" he asked, that thought being the only thing on his mind. Sakura smiled at him.

"You did pass; you proved to me that you know more about me than anyone else. But that isn't what I wanted to talk to you about." She continued. "What I wanted to talk to you about was, since Tsunade-sama knows, do you really mind if anyone else knows…about us?"

Naruto sat in silence for a moment; he searched his thoughts for the answer to this question, and immediately answered:

"Nope! I don't really care, Sakura-chan!"

His face formed that priceless grin, as he brought his hands to the back of his neck and rested his head on them. Sakura looked down, her expression seemingly that of surprise. His face shifted again into a serious tone. He brought his hand to her chin, looked her in the eyes and stated, with all his heart:

"If they do know, let them know…let them know that I love the most beautiful flower that will ever bloom in the forests of Konoha." A heat wave flooded over Sakura's cheeks as he uttered those words. She embraced him, and brought him close. They both turned their heads as their lips met.

"…and I will let everyone know that I love the Hero of Konoha."

…

Moments after their embrace, a knock came at the door. They looked at each other and smiled. Sakura approached the door and opened it.

"Kakashi-sensei?" She stated with a hint of confusion.

"Oh, Sakura, you were here. I was sent to get you, but you weren't home. Now I see why." Kakashi said with a smile. "Hokage-sama wants to see you."

"Oh, okay." Sakura replied as she turned to look at Naruto. He smiled back, and gave a friendly wave goodbye. Sakura stepped out of the door and turned right towards the stairs.

Kakashi watched Sakura leave, then closed the door and walked towards Naruto. Naruto, realizing the situation he was in, made sure to keep his waist hidden by his blanket.

"Naruto…we need to talk about something." Kakashi said as he sat down.

"Y-yeah, what is it?" Naruto replied. _I can already guess what it's about._ He thought

"It's about you and Sakura." Kakashi started.

_I knew it. _Naruto thought.

"Naruto…do you remember the memorial stone?" Kakashi asked in a serious tone. Naruto nodded in acknowledgement. "As you can recall, the stone is engraved with the names of those who gave their lives in service to Konoha." Naruto nodded again. "I'll tell you now, without any hesitation that you must be ready to face the fact that one day, your name, and even Sakura's name may be on that memorial." Naruto's facial expression sank. Kakashi gave him a few minutes to soak in the possible reality before speaking again.

"Yeah, I know." Naruto said as he brought his head down. Kakashi raised his hand and placed it on Naruto's shoulder.

"I'm glad you understand, but I hope you never have to face that day." Kakashi said.

"But…" Naruto began to speak again. Kakashi looked at him with confusion on his own face. Naruto brought his face up to look Kakashi in the eyes with determination.

"I won't allow that to ever happen!" Kakashi's eyes widened in surprise, and then relaxed again.

"Is that so? That's good."

…

On her way to Tsunade, Sakura heard a familiar voice call out to her.

"Sakura! Where are you going?" Ino asked.

"Tsunade-sama wants to see me, so I'm headed that way."

"Let me come with you! I've got nothing to do." Ino insisted.

"Yeah, that's fine with me." Sakura replied. Once they reached Tsunade's office, Ino was instructed to step outside.

"How did it go?" Tsunade asked.

"I-It…went well, he did what you said he would do…and…" Sakura stuttered

"AND?..." Tsunade exclaimed "AND…What else?"

"N-nothing." Sakura replied.

"Sakura, remember now, knowing him the way I know him, he'll never let you down if he has a choice in the matter. Take care of him."

"Yes Ma'am!" Sakura shouted with a salute.

"Good! You're dismissed!" Tsunade shouted as Sakura turned to leave the room.

As the door slowly opened, Sakura found Ino with her ear nearly on the door. When Sakura shot her a look of disbelief, Ino jumped back.

"What are you doing? Spying on me?" Sakura asked. Ino smiled a sinister smirk and replied:

"Maybe…who's 'he'?...come on, you can tell me!" They started to walk down to the main street that was the center of Konoha; they were passing the Ichiraku BARBE-Q stand when Sakura dropped in to buy some ramen.

"RAMEN?! Don't tell me, it's Naruto?!" Ino screamed. Sakura lowered her head a little, with no discernible expression on her face, but she didn't have any reaction to Ino's accusation. "You're not reacting with your usual anger or denial…IT MUST BE TRUE!" She screamed. Sakura raised her head and looked at Ino.

"Do you really want to know?" Sakura asked Ino, who nodded enthusiastically.

"It is Naruto." Sakura acknowledged.

"Naruto?! What about…what was his name again?" Ino asked, confused.

"I don't remember; he doesn't matter anymore." Sakura replied. After countless minutes of pondering this character's name, they were never able to remember what it was.

Ino spoke up once again.

"So, it is Naruto…how far did you go? Did you…you know." Sakura gently nodded her head. "You gave him your _virginity_?!" Ino blurted out. Sakura noticed the many sets of eyes that were now looking their way. She forcefully nudged Ino with her elbow.

"Stop speaking so damn loud!" Sakura whispered.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry." Ino replied. "…But…You let him take your virginity?"

"Well…not exactly." Sakura replied with her head held quite low. "I took his."

Ino's face immediately shifted from sinister smile to shocked surprise.

"YOU WHAT?!" Ino whispered in a scream. "WHEN?!" Sakura's face was flushed with embarrassment.

"When we were coming back…I kind of forced myself onto him."

"YOU WHAT?! You forced yourself onto him!? Didn't he object?!" After that statement, Ino second guessed herself '_would he object?'_ she thought.

"He…tried to, but I was caught up in the moment…and before you knew it, he was caught up in the moment too."

Ino's eyes were the definition of "shocked" and her mouth was as wide as a canyon.

"…and that's not even counting what happened last night."

"LAST NIGHT?!"

Ino, as shocked as ever, seemed as if she was going to faint at the news; Sakura's face was now in a smile, her mind remembering that Naruto didn't have a problem with anyone knowing about them; her embarrassment had completely vanished.

"Not only that, but I found another use for the blood transference technique that we learned yesterday…Maybe you'll be able to use it on Shikamaru?..." Her smile was now the same grin that Ino had just earlier. "…I could teach you."

"SHIKAMARU?! AS IF!" Ino screamed as her cheeks became flushed with red.

…

Somewhere, a few miles away, Shino was with Kiba. An insect flew onto his finger, paused and then moved away.

"I see." He stated.

"See? See what?" Kiba inquired.

"Naruto is in a relationship with Sakura, and they've gone far." Shino explained

"Far?! How far?"

"Far enough to not tell Hinata."

"Well, w-"

"Why not tell Hinata, you ask? Well, that's because, Hinata loves Naruto."

"Oh, yeah, alright, we'll keep it to ourselves then."

…

"Understood?" Neji asked Naruto and Rock Lee.

"Understood, Sir!" Rock Lee enthusiastically shouted.

"Lee, stop with the formalities, we've been on the same team since we were Genin." Neji pleaded

"Understood, Sir!" Rock Lee repeated enthusiastically

Neji sighed with a hint of annoyance

"Um, could you go over it again, Neji?" Naruto asked, confused. Neji let out another tired sigh.

"Our next mission is to track down the duo known as "The Twin Sirens" they were a couple of siblings subjected to Orochimaru's experiments.

"Why are they called 'The Twin Sirens' again?" Naruto asked

"Because, they are well versed in a Genjutsu that makes the victim fall under a trance, you will become their puppet if they get a hold of you. Be careful."

"Right. Now, when you say 'get a hold of you', what do you mean? Do you mean literally 'get a hold' or some other way?"

"That's the problem, we don't know. With the information that we have, a simple glance could mean the end of us. All we know is that they can only control one person at a time." Neji stated as he looked at Naruto. "We REALLY need to be careful."

"Lee, do you have the emergency _soldier pill _that Gai-sensei gave you?" Neji glanced over at Lee.

"Yes!" Lee replied, as he opened his hand and held out a piece of chocolate candy wrapped in red aluminum foil. "Gai-sensei called it the CHOCOLATE BOMB! He informed me to only use it in dire situations!"

Neji nodded "Good, keep that in mind." Naruto gave a confused look at Neji.

"…Isn't that just candy?" He asked. Neji pulled Naruto closer to him.

"Listen…You do remember Raiga, right? Remember the black curry that Lee loved so much?"

Naruto nodded.

"That chocolate is laced with alcohol, if we run into trouble; Lee will be an asset to the mission, but he doesn't know that, so keep it to yourself, understood?" Naruto nodded.

Neji looked at them both and nodded. "Good! Our mission briefing is over! We'll head out first thing in the morning! Naruto, since Sakura had to meet with Hokage-sama, I'll leave it to you to inform her on the situation, since you two have been on the same team since you were Genin, just like Lee and myself." Naruto nodded again.

"We'll meet tomorrow by the main gate! Dismissed!"

…

Naruto exited the tent that the mission briefing was being given in; he started to walk down the main road when he saw Sakura with Ino.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto called out. Sakura turned around with Ino.

"Oh, Naruto." Sakura replied. Ino smirked and started to pester Sakura with gentle nudges with her shoulder. Sakura gave her an ugly look and pushed her aside.

"Sakura-chan, I need to talk to you for a little while." Ino's smile widened. Sakura shot another ugly look at her way and then turned while dragging Naruto with her by his sleeve.

"Good Luck…_Sakura-chan_." Ino remarked sarcastically.

"What was that about?" Naruto asked.

"It doesn't matter…Naruto, I got this for you." She revealed the Ramen that she had just purchased. "Where would you like to eat?" Naruto's eyes shone with gratefulness when he saw what she had in her hands. He thought for a moment, and then spoke up with a light in his eye.

"I have the perfect place, follow me."

Together, they walked to a small hot spring; its pool was constantly being rejuvenated with a stream of water that fell from the top of a mountain. They took off their shoes, placed their feet in the water and enjoyed each other's company until the sun began to set.

"Naruto, we should get back, or we'll get lost." Sakura said with a hint of worry in her voice.

"Just a little longer, Sakura-chan, you really need to see this." The sun was no longer visible, and the only sound they could hear was the stream that flowed from the mountain.

"Naruto, I don't see any-" Sakura was cut off mid sentence. When, before her very eyes, the forest was lit up with the green glow of fireflies, dozens of them lined the entire forest. Sakura looked up and saw the stars shining brilliantly in the sky.

"This place is special to me." Naruto said. "I've kept it a secret from everyone else for a long time. When I was still shunned by the village, I used to come here to find a little peace." Sakura's eyes widened in realization; tears began to well up in them. Naruto moved closer to her and wiped her tears away with the back of his hand. He moved closer to her and kissed her; holding her close, he looked into her teal eyes, illuminated by the fireflies.

"This place reminds me that even in the world's darkness, there will always be a light. _You_ are the light in _my_ darkness, Sakura-chan."

She brought him close and embraced him again.

"As long as there are stars in the sky, Naruto…You will be the only one in my heart."

* * *

**P.S**

Here's what I noticed when I'm writing these stories, I don't come up with the whole thing all at once.

I come up with certain events that I want to write, and then fill in the details from there. If you've read _Medical Clearance_, then, you know that I only knew I wanted to write the ending.

And so, seeing as how it's most likely that you've finished reading chapter 3, here are the events I knew I wanted to put into this story:

1) Kakashi telling Naruto to be careful

2) Sakura telling Ino about the relationship

3) Shino's dialogue "Why? That's because"...Why is the Shino/Kiba cameo so short? Well, That's because, I just wanted to put Shino's explanation method in there.

4) I wanted to set up the Mission briefing for Chapter 4, I was debating between character replacements such as Rock Lee replaced with Hinata and Neji replaced with Shikamaru.

5) The last scene with the fireflies...I really liked that one.

Thanks again for reading.


	4. Song of the Siren

It seems I didn't need a week to write the next chapter.

Maybe these will be coming sooner than on a weekly basis.

Writer's Note: "Bushy-brows" has been replaced with "Geji Mayu" because that's what I hear when Naruto talks to Rock Lee.

**CHAPTER RATING: T**

* * *

**Episode 4: Song of the Siren**

The sun's light was cast on the village of Konoha, every street and building was bathed in a bright yellow glow, as if the horizon was a burning bonfire. Four shadows were stretching across the great gate of Konoha as they began to move forward.

"Here is how we'll set up our formation." Neji stated to Rock Lee, Sakura and Naruto. "I'll be first, since I can scout the woods with my Byakugan. Lee will be second, watching the right flank. Naruto will be third, watching the left flank and Sakura, you'll be fourth; since you're our medical ninja, it's our main priority to keep you safe. Are you all ready?"

They all nodded and simultaneously, started to walk out of Konoha into the forest. The early light's illumination could barely penetrate the thick canopy of the forest. There were patches of orange light that escaped through the gaps of the leaves, but there was a darkness in the forest that only seemed present during the night.

"Look, Sakura-chan, it's just like the fireflies." Naruto stated with a smile. She smiled with a light blush in her cheeks as she recalled the conversation that they had last night. "It'll light our way back home."

Hours passed as they walked through the forest, and before they realized it, the patches of orange were clear reflections of white, with the sun was high in the sky as they continued to walk.

"Hey, Neji, can we take a break?" Naruto desperately asked. "We're dying here; we've been walking for hours and haven't seen anything!" Neji noted the truth in Naruto's words. He scanned the surrounding forest for any other signs of life before adding.

"It looks clear; we can rest up here in a while. There's a river up ahead where we can rehydrate and regroup."

"But I can still go! I'm not done yet! I still have the power of youth!" Rock Lee shouted

"Lee-san, We're all tired and hungry. We can take a break, can't we?" Sakura asked him.

"Y-Yes! Sakura-san!" He replied. Naruto's eyes shifted to her as a grin stretched across his lips.

"You can ask him for anything, can't you?" Naruto said silently.

"I could do the same for you too, couldn't I?" Sakura asked him.

An even brighter grin stretched across his lips.

"Anything…Anytime…Anywhere."

"I can hear the river up ahead, we're almost there." Neji declared. "We'll wait here for a bit before proceeding forward."

The team set up a small campsite next to the river. Neji tried his best to start a fire, but nothing he had tried produced a single ember. He motioned to Lee.

"Lee, come here, I need your help." Neji said

"Yes, sir! I'm on my way!" Lee replied

"Can you start a fire?"

"I can try, sir!"

"Do your best…When I say that, I mean give 100 percent."

"I always give 200 percent, sir!"

"Yeah, I know, just get to it…please."

Moments passed as Lee stood there, stick in hand

"Neji…how am I supposed to start a fire?" Lee asked, confused. Neji let out a long and tired sigh.

"Friction, Lee, use friction. We don't have any matches or anything so we need to do it the old fashioned way. Just push down and constantly spin this stick against this flat piece of wood until an ember starts, as soon as it picks up, I'll grab the tinder bundle."

"Yes, sir!"

Lee grabbed the stick and placed it between his palms.

"Alright! Here we go!" With insane speed, Lee began to spin the stick. A thin stream of smoke started to rise with the wind from the base of the wooden slab, without any other warning, the small amount of black coals began to glow red.

"There we go, Lee! Stop!" Neji shouted. Lee slowly brought the stick up in his hands as Neji gently placed the tinder bundle onto the wooden slab and watched as a flame started to engulf it.

"Alright, Lee, now we need fire~" Neji was cut off and Lee dashed out of sight and came back with a bundle of loose wood and branches. "~wood…"

"Yes, sir! It's all here!" Lee shouted. Neji's eyes eased as he slowly began adding branches to the fire. "Now that we have a fire…Where are Naruto and Sakura?"

"I believe Sakura-san is gathering herbs in the forest, Naruto is accompanying her."

"Ah, I see. Well then, why don't you find us something to eat?"

"What should I get?"

"Seeing as we're by a river, there should be a lake, not too far from here, how do you feel about fish?"

"I'm on it, Neji."

"Lee…don't overdo it. Alright?"

"It's Alright! Don't worry, Neji!" Rock Lee replied as he struck his "nice guy" pose.

_I hope he doesn't bring the entire lake to us._ Neji thought.

…

"So…What do you think about this mission?" Naruto asked Sakura as they walked through the thick vegetation of the forest.

"We'll need to stay alert; we don't have much information on anything, basically, we're in the dark." Sakura replied as she bent down to pick a flower with golden petals.

"We're in the dark?" Naruto asked as he smirked. Sakura stared at him for a minute and then smiled as well. His puns were able to keep the mood light.

"Well…" Sakura said in a somber tone. "If you're asking if I'm scared, I won't lie. It's always scary when you don't know what lies ahead of you."

"Yeah, I know how that feels." Naruto replied. "But together, we can do this. I know we can."

"I'm sure we'll make it." Sakura added.

"Why are you gathering those flowers?" Naruto asked.

"You'll find out eventually, it'll help with this mission." Sakura replied. By this time, they had moved out of the thick vegetation and approached the shore.

"Wow. Look at that view." Naruto noted. Before them was a massive lake, the sun began to set, and where they stood they could distinguish beautiful hues of blue mixed with orange that moved with the ripples of the water.

"It seems so…peaceful, so quiet." Sakura added.

Suddenly, something seemed to soar out of the water and into the air. It looked human, but it looked as if there was a bag lagging behind the figure. A BIG bag lagged behind this silhouette. Then they saw it land and walk on the water. The black silhouette walked towards them.

"Get ready." Naruto said and he changed his stance to a ready position. They became tense as the figure moved closer.

"Yo! Naruto-kun! Sakura-san!" Rock Lee enthusiastically shouted as he tossed the bag onto land.

"Geji mayu!" Naruto screamed "You had me worried there."

"Lee-san! What are you doing?" Sakura asked

"Fishing, Neji started a fire back at the camp." Lee pointed south; they noticed a cloud of white smoke rising from the forest. "Neji sent me to find us something to eat! What do you think?" Lee said as he pointed to the burlap sack he just threw onto the shore.

Naruto and Sakura stared at the bag as it constantly convulsed and multiple freshwater Walleye squirmed out of the bag.

"Lee-san, don't you think you over did it? Why don't you throw a few of them back?" Sakura asked

"You think so? Was it too much?"

"Yes, I'm sure four will do fine." Lee moved the bag back into the tide, and returned all but four fish into the lake. All three of them crossed the lake and headed back towards camp.

"Oh, everyone's back?" Neji asked as he saw the trio approach. "Now, I did say that we'd rest here 'for a while' but it seems that night is falling, so we might as well rest here tonight."

In response, the trio nodded. All members of the team then went on doing their own miscellaneous activities; Rock Lee was busy with his physical training, Naruto feasted on his fish, Neji rested his eyes and Sakura used a mortar and pestle to grind the flowers she had collected earlier into a paste, added water and inserted them into syringes. As time passed the members of the team began to tire, eyelids became heavy and yawns were heard all around.

"Naruto, are you going to sleep yet?" Sakura sleepily asked him. Naruto's eyes were wide open, the blue hue in his eyes glaring into the scarlet flames that danced in the night. His concentration was broken by the sound of her voice.

"No, not yet, I'll keep the fire going while you guys rest, it'll be fine." He answered as he turned to face her. Sakura nodded in reassurance and turned in her sleeping bag. Naruto turned his eyes back towards the fire, staring deeply into the dancing flames, and occasionally threw in another piece of firewood to keep it from dying.

He took deep breaths and tilted his head towards the sky; it was almost like he was in another state of mind as he listened to the crackling of the embers and chirping of the crickets. Then, all of a sudden, he felt compelled to stand. Something was calling to him.

Naruto slowly stood, and turned towards the lake; he moved with slow and heavy footsteps; his head hung low, the focus in his eyes was weakening.

_What's happening to me?_

_Why am I moving?_

_Who is calling to me?_

With his heavy footsteps, he was soon at the edge of the lake.

And he was still advancing into the lake. He felt the cold waters engulf his feet and slowly move up his legs until they settled at his waist. He shut his eyes for a second, and before him stood one of the most beautiful women he felt he had ever seen.

She was tall, with a slender body, her long hair was as white as the full moon, her eyes a deep sapphire. She brought her hands to his face and brought him closer.

_What's going on?_

_What is she doing?_

_Why can't I move?_

His body did not respond to his movements, but he felt everything, saw everything, and heard everything that was happening around him. He felt warmth around his face as she grasped him. Slowly, she brought her lips to his.

His eyes closed, and for what seemed like the longest time, they didn't open.


	5. Silencing of the Siren

So, I'd call this the "throw away" chapter. Because to be honest, I didn't like writing it. And I don't really like how it turned out.

I'm just posting it to finish off a story arc.

So, what did I learn from this?

I learned...That I'm not going to write action sequences anymore. I don't enjoy them and I don't feel like I can write them well.

If you do decide to read this chapter, thank you for giving it a chance. But I personally don't like it.

I'll be back again with another "episode" soon.

I'm sorry if this rushed ending didn't live up to the build up I tried to make for it. but I just can't write it correctly.

**CHAPTER RATING: T**

* * *

**Episode 5: Silencing of the Siren**

The crackling fire resounded loudly in Sakura's mind. In her dream she heard loud steps and saw a figure walking away from her.

"Hey…Naruto, do you really feel comfortable about this mission?" Sakura asked. But no reply came.

"…Naruto?" Sakura turned to find that no one was there to answer her call. The fire was still burning strongly, but he was nowhere to be found. Sakura immediately stood up in a panic.

"Neji! Lee! Wake up!" She shouted. In shock, the two shot up and burst through their sleeping bags. "Naruto's gone!"

"What? What happened?!" Neji asked.

"I-I don't know! I just woke up and now he's gone." Sakura answered

"Wait!" Lee interrupted "There are his footsteps!" Lee said as he pointed to the ruffled vegetation that lead towards the lake. "That must have been him!" The trio stood and ran, following the crumpled vegetation.

A few minutes passed before the trail ended at the lake shore. In the bright moonlight, they could make out two figures in the lake

"Naruto?!" Sakura cried out. But there was no answer to her call.

"That's Naruto, but there's someone else with him, it looks like a woman." With a splash, they saw Naruto's silhouette fall backwards into the lake, and disappear into its depths. The other figure floated above the water, lifted her arms, and forcefully brought them down.

As she brought her arms down a tidal wave formed before her feet, and came crashing down on the shore before them. Naruto's body harshly washed up onto the shore. Sakura rushed to him and dropped down onto her knees.

"Lee, keep an eye on her." Neji commanded, pointing at the figure still on the lake.

"Naruto! Naruto, can you hear me?! Please, Naruto, say something!" She cried. His eyes were closed as he started coughing; water gushed from his throat and flowed down his cheeks to the ground.

"Sakura-chan…quick…g-get away…" he desperately whispered

"What? What are you saying?" Sakura questioned.

Naruto's hand shot up and grabbed her by the throat; his hand tightened around her windpipe.

"N-na…ru…t~" She struggled to speak before Neji advanced and landed a swift kick to Naruto's midsection, sending him flying up the shore. Naruto slowly stood. His stance was different; his head was hanging, hiding his face; his shoulders, slacking, as if his arms were too heavy to lift.

"Sakura? Are you alright?!" Neji shouted. Sakura coughed, letting in harsh heaves of air as she replied.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"This must be one of the people we were looking for, there's a good chance that she's controlling him." Neji said. "Lee! Go now!"

"Alright!" Lee screamed as he began to run across the water, with great speed he jumped into the air and shouted "KONOHA SENPUU!" His attack was immediately blocked by a thrust of water.

"A water shield?!" he shouted, before he could make a second move, his leg was pulled into a torrent of water and his body was tossed to the other side of the lake. He crashed deep in the forest as a giant dust cloud rose from the impact.

"This has got to be it, the person on the lake is one of the 'twin sirens' we're looking fore. Be prepared." Neji stated

"Yeah, I know." Sakura replied.

Naruto charged towards Sakura and Neji with reckless intent. The punches he tried to deliver were countered, as he was struck down again. This time, as he stood up, blood started to pour from his mouth.

"We can't just keep attacking him." Neji noted. "What can we do?"

Sakura's face lit up with an idea. She pulled out a syringe from her pocket.

"Let me try something, cover me!" She shouted while charging towards Naruto. He also rushed towards her and raised his arm high. Sakura ducked below his fist and quickly jabbed the syringe into his neck.

Naruto's footing gave way as he staggered and crashed into the ground. His body was now motionless.

"You paralyzed him?" Neji asked

"That's right, now we can try to take her down." Sakura replied. She handed him a syringe that she had filled with the flowers from earlier.

"What is it?" he asked.

"It's a natural anesthetic, if we inject her with this, we'll be able to take her back to Konoha with us. But we better be quick, it only lasts for around ten minutes."

"Okay, so here's what we'll do, I'll~" Neji's eyes blinked with realization as he started to spin at an incredible speed. "Hakkeshō Kaiten!" As he spun, shards of ice broke around them.

"She's firing icicles at us! Get to cover!" Sakura ran towards Naruto and picked him up. Together, Neji and Sakura ran deeper into the forest to find cover.

While running, they heard a splash from the lake, as they turned they saw Rock Lee ascending towards the moon.

"PRIMARY LOTUS!" The velocity of his movement created a vortex of air that pushed away from him in a spiral pattern; as he plummeted towards the water, it moved away until the bottom of the lake was exposed.

Neji and Sakura then heard a crash, and saw the vacuum of air release, bringing the water that had been misplaced back in, to fill the void. Then they saw two bodies floating on the surface of the water.

They retrieved the bodies and brought them back to the shore.

"Lee will be fine; we just need to let him rest. On the other hand, this woman is dead."

"White hair, blue eyes…This was one of the siblings that Orochimaru experimented on, I'm not sure where the other one is, but…" Neji scanned the forest. "…She's not here."

Naruto's body started to move as his eyes opened.

"What's going on?" he asked. Sakura sat next to him.

"You were under a trance caused by her." She pointed to the lady with white hair. "You'll be fine now, just lay your head down and rest."

"What about the mission?" Naruto asked.

"It's too late now, we'll have to abort. One of our objectives is dead, and two of our teammates are out of action. We can't manage to finish it as we are now. As soon as you've rested up, we'll head back to Konoha. Someone else will have to take over for us." Neji replied

"Oh, I see." Naruto said back, with more than a hint of happiness on his face. He looked at Sakura as his face shone with happiness.

"We've failed a mission, but at least we get to go home."


	6. You said I could ask you for anything

Well, here's a return to how I would have wanted the story to go.

Something new to me is coming up. You'll understand what it is once you read the episode.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy.

**CHAPTER RATING: T**

* * *

**Episode 6: "You said I could ask you for anything."**

Naruto sluggishly walked up the stairs and approached the door. His hand slowly reached out and turned the doorknob. Slowly, he slid open the door and flipped the light switch. His shoulders slumped and he walked to the bathroom. Once he became situated, he removed his clothes and stepped into the shower. As the water rushed to his hair and slowly trickled down his body the events of the past four years streamed through his mind.

…

His heart raced as he recalled the events that occurred when the members of Team 7 were announced: Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke. Looking back at how much of a child he was then, he started to reminisce about what a despicable act he had committed just to get close to her.

_"What do you think of Naruto?" Sasuke asked Sakura_

_"He's become accustomed to interfering with my love" She replied "He enjoys seeing my struggle with my troubles…Naruto knows nothing about me…I just want you to accept me, Sasuke-kun."_

The water flowed down his eyes as he remembered her words. She had hated him like everyone else; she even said that the one thing she hated was _him_. He brought his hand up to support himself as he remembered the promise he had made to her.

…

_"Naruto" she stated "This is a once in a lifetime request…Please, please bring Sasuke-kun back."_

_Naruto's eyes looked at her, worried. Then he smiled and replied:_

_"Don't worry, Sakura-chan! I'll bring Sasuke back for sure! I promise!"_

A pain shot through his heart.

"…The promise that I could not keep." He said aloud.

…

Two years of training had passed before he returned to Konoha-returned home. His training with Jiraiya had been difficult, but had made him stronger. He returned home, and the first person he saw was _her_-the one person that he loved more than anyone else.

_"What do you think? Don't you think I'm more womanly now?" she had asked him._

_"Don't worry! You haven't changed at all!" He had enthusiastically replied._

His clenched his fist and felt heat from his blood gather at the pressure.

"How could I have been so stupid?...so childish?" he murmured under his breath. Blood rushed to his face, he was embarrassed to admit this to himself. Two years of training, he had grown stronger, but he had not matured at all. How could he have made _himself_ look like such a fool in front of her? Even Jiraiya knew what to say to women. Two years under his tutelage, and Naruto didn't even know how to speak the words that were always on his mind; three simple words that meant the world to anyone willing to say them.

"I love you." He mumbled again; those three words that he could not repeat out loud to her in complete sincerity. When he had tried to articulate these words, he had always said something stupid and ridiculous.

_Let's go on a date_

_I thought we'd have the chance to be alone_

_Why is he here? I thought it was only going to be you and me?_

Things that little kids would say to give hints, but he was never direct. It was such a stupid decision.

As his mind raced back, he felt the cold air on his face and the melting snow in his hair.

…

_ "What did you just say, Sakura-chan? I thought I heard it wrong…" His eyes were wide with surprise._

_"Like I said…Naruto…I love you." Sakura replied, with her cheeks flushed in red. "I said Sasuke-kun doesn't mean anything to me anymore. I must have been crazy to carry a light in my heart for him for so long. Listen carefully when someone confesses their feelings to you."_

_His eyes shimmered with a hint of water in them, before he answered her back._

_"But why? What for?!" He shouted back. "This isn't the time or place to be joking around, it's not funny, Sakura-chan!"_

_"This isn't a joke, Naruto. I just opened my eyes. Why should I love a rogue ninja who's a criminal? I'm not a child anymore, I can face what reality is…So Naruto, you can forget about that promise you made to me. You can stop chasing after Sasuke" _

**_"_**_This is all too sudden." He said back to her._

_"Nothing happened; it's obvious why I fell in love with you."_

_His mind raced through every time she had worried about Sasuke._

_Sakura walked forward, and gently embraced him._

_"Sasuke keeps getting farther and farther away from me. But you've always stayed by my side, and cheered me up. I finally realized who you truly are. Even with that time with Pain, you returned when everyone needed you. You are the hero, who protected the village, and now everyone admires you…and I'm simply one of them now."_

_" You used to be a prank loving loser, but now you've grown into a wonderful person; and I've seen it with my own eyes. Meanwhile, Sasuke keeps adding to his crimes, and breaking my heart. He's always walking away, always getting farther." _

_"But Naruto, you've been close to me this whole time, you comfort me. I care about you, from the bottom of my hear-"_

_"That's enough!...Sakura-chan…This joke isn't funny!" he shouted while pushing her away. He saw a ripple in her eyes_

_"Why are you so upset? I'm just telling you that I like you now instead of Sasuke."_

_His grip tightened around her shoulders_

_"I hate people who lie to themselves!" he shouted at her._

_"I'm lying to myself?" she shot back. "I'm the one who decides how I feel!...If you hate me, just come out and say so! Don't make up some convenient excus-"_

_"It doesn't make sense!" he said cutting her off, "You came all this way just to __**confess to **__**me**__?"_

_"__**just**__ to confess to you?..." Sakura replied in a low tone."__**JUST?!**__ You don't think it's a big deal for a girl to confess her love?! Of course I'd come all the way out here…I'm saying that it's not necessary for you to chase after Sasuke!"_

_He looked at her, with resolve in his eyes._

_"This just sounds like a painful excuse."_

_"Why don't you understand? I don't care about Sasuke anymore; the promise between us doesn't matter anymore."_

…

His mind raced as he heard every syllable of the conversation and recalled the words she had used.

**_'…you can forget about that promise you made to me."_**

**_"… and now everyone admires you…and I'm simply one of them now."_**

**_"Meanwhile, Sasuke keeps adding to his crimes, and breaking my heart."_**

**_"…I like you now, instead of Sasuke."_**

**_"…chase after Sasuke!"_**

**_"Why don't you understand? I don't care about Sasuke anymore; the promise between us doesn't matter."_**

He noted that back in the Land of Iron, she couldn't stop mentioning Sasuke, or that promise. His heart sank at the thought. She hadn't changed, her heart was the same. He was severely hurt by her words.

His breathing became erratic as he grasped his heart and began to regulate his breathing. Slowly, he turned off the shower and stepped out. Physically and mentally exhausted, he put on a pair of light blue boxers and fell onto his bed. As he put a pillow over his face, he started to think about the recent events that had happened to him.

After he had jumped in Sakura's way to protect her…she had helped him recover in Yamato-taichou's wood conjured home. His heart rate picked up as he recalled how she had confessed to him on that night.

Unlike the incident at the land of Iron, Sakura had taken action that she could not go back on. He could feel a soft pressure on his lips as he remembered how she had sealed her sincere feelings with a kiss. He couldn't believe it at the time. There was one thing that she recited that has stuck with him this whole time.

"We aren't kids anymore, Naruto…" with those five words, she was able to inject to him a beautiful reality that opened his eyes. This girl that he had loved for so long was a girl no longer.

She was a woman, a strong and beautiful woman. She was the woman of his dreams.

And then he recalled a woman that he, regrettably, never paid any attention to.

"Hinata…" he voice rang. His mind flashed before him the image of her freefalling from the sky and landing head first to the ground. His heart ached with rage at the thought. Then he heard her voice in his head.

_"…I love you, Naruto_". Those words rang through his ears like a gong, constantly being struck. His heart stopped as his mind raced at the thought.

"How could I have let this happen?" His heart was strained from regret. This woman who he had never acknowledged just admitted to him that she loved him, and here he was now, in a relationship with the woman he loved, but his heart ached to think that Hinata's heart was broken.

"I'm sorry, Hinata…I'm sorry." His eyes flinched as he began to realize what he was doing to her; thinking about how he had always chased after Sakura in his childish manner, he knew the pain she must have been feeling now. Now, he was out of her reach; there was no way that he could give back that love that she held for him.

With a heavy heart in his chest, he let his exhaustion take him and soon, he was fast asleep.

Before he knew it, he was woken up by the sight of the pink-haired, emerald-eyed beauty. He smiled as she took his hand. She brought her hand to his face and wiped away tears that had fallen from it.

"What's wrong?" she asked him. Feeling the regret in his heart for Hinata, but not wanting to burden her with his pain, he replied.

"Nothing…I was just yawning." She smiled at him and looked into his eyes. Her strong grip dragged him up and hugged him. He returned the embrace with his heart. As she slowly pulled away, she turned her head and kissed him.

"Naruto, do you remember that conversation we had in the forest?" Naruto nodded.

"You said I could ask you for anything…" she whispered

"Anything. Anytime. Anywhere." He replied

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a woman enter the room.

A woman with blue hair, and a lavender sweatshirt.


	7. Anything Anytime Anywhere

**CHAPTER RATING: T**

* * *

**Episode 7: "Anything, Anytime, Anywhere."**

"…They're asking me to do what?!" Naruto shouted. He turned and gave a worried look at Hinata.

"The Hyuuga family has asked you to watch over Hinata." Sakura said as Hinata lowered her head.

"Why me? Why not someone from the Branch Family?" Naruto questioned

"They said that there is no one more qualified to take care of her than the Hero of Konoha." Sakura replied. Naruto's eyes shifted to Hinata in confusion. His jaw hung open in both shock at the request and at how terrible his reaction made him sound.

His eyes lowered as he began to move towards his room.

"Understood, let me go get dressed…Hinata, please, have a seat…m-make yourself at home." He said while gently turning his head to the side.

He returned minutes later, dressed in his usual attire, Black and Orange tracksuit, to find that only Hinata was waiting for him. She held her head down and blushed while avoiding eye contact with him.

"Where's Sakura-chan?" he asked her.

"S-she was summoned by Tsunade-sama" Hinata whispered. "S-so, it's just you and me, Naruto-kun." He took a very deep breath, walked up to her and extended his hand.

"So…are you hungry? I think the Ichiraku-BARBE-Q delivers…what would you like?"

"N-no, it's okay. I'm not that hungry." She quietly replied. He shrugged with a confused look on his face and sat down next to her on his bed.

"So, why is it that they chose me to watch over you?" He said in a serious tone. She looked down, depressed. Seeing her reaction, he quickly brought his hands up and waved then. "N-Not that I don't want to help watch over you!" He sincerely hoped that she didn't take offense to what he had just said.

She brought her face up and gave him a gentle smile. His eyes brightened to the fact that he hadn't upset her.

"T-the main family has gone training…a-and I was to be left behind, because I am considered too…too weak." He looked again and saw the sadness in her crystal clear eyes.

"Hinata," he moved forward and placed his hands on her shoulders. Leaning in near her face, he told her with great confidence. "…You aren't weak. You aren't weak at all; you are one of the most powerful women that I have ever met." Her face became red at the statement.

"D-do you really believe that?" She asked him. He maintained focus on her eyes and nodded.

"I do, I remember how you stood up to Pain for me, and I've never forgotten that." He said to her with a deep sincerity, and gave her a bright smile. She took his other hand and held it tightly. His deep sapphire eyes widened; looking in her eyes with surprise, he quickly broke away from her hands and brought his right hand to his neck. Her eyes shifted downwards.

"Hinata…" he took a deep breath. "How would you like to go for a walk?" he nervously asked. She didn't speak, but merely nodded.

He stood up and motioned for her to follow.

Walking out of the door, he turned and locked it with his key.

"W-where are we going?" she timidly asked. He looked at her and gave an uneasy, yet kind smile.

"I don't know, we're just going for a walk." He turned to his left and began walking.

They soon entered the forest, and came across a clearing, the same place where he had trained to create his own technique _Rasen Shuriken_. The land was still elevated, and the raging waterfall was still flowing.

He looked into the waters and then lifted his face to look at Hinata; what could he do to pass the time without making any wrong impressions on her? Then one thing popped into his mind.

"Hinata…Since you were left out of the training trip, how would you like to train with me? We'll do some offensive sparring." he bluntly asked her. Her face lit up with red as she replied.

"O-okay…what do you mean offensive sparring?"

"I won't be attacking, I'll just defend. You can try to hit me…but please, don't kill me." He said with a joking smile. A wave of relief entered his heart as he saw her smile at his remark.

"Okay, are you ready?" He asked, she nodded and began to run towards him. He brought his hands up as she began to strike him. "You're speed is impressive." He noted out loud. He face was clad in determination as she kept pushing forward. She hadn't struck him yet; her strikes were being dodged and deflected. She made one final lunge at him; he firmly planted his left foot down to the ground and turned out of the way; Hinata hit the dirt floor with a loud thud; and when her eyes opened again from the brief pain, she saw him standing above her with his hand extended.

"Good job, Hinata. Come sit with me for a little while and I'll tell you where I think you need improving." He motioned for her to join him as he sat by the waterfall. "From my personal observations, I think you need to be bolder. Make your moves with more power and force. You've already got speed in your movements, now just add power." She nodded in acknowledgement of his observations.

"I think we'll go for a few more rounds, what do you say?" Hinata nodded enthusiastically and returned to her ready position. An hour passed with no success. But just as Hinata had begun to give up, Naruto saw a glint of hope in her eyes. He noticed something different.

Before, she had followed his movements. Now, she was blowing past them. Instead of gently moving with his hands, she started to push him back. Her speed and aggressiveness surprisingly caught him off guard, and before he'd realized it, he felt her palm strike him directly in the chest. He stumbled, his guard now completely gone as she struck him again, and turned to deliver a forceful spinning back kick to his mid-section.

The force of the blow sent him flying. Hinata heard a splash as he landed in the water. He sat up, soaked from head to toe, and a little dizzy.

"Ow." He expressed his pain with a kind smile. "Great job, Hinata! You got past my guard." A smile stretched across her face at the praise. "Now that this is done, the sun is getting a little low; do you want to head home?"

She brought her head down and nodded. He looked at her with an encouraging look in his eyes.

"**Bolder!** Hinata, be bold!" her eyes opened as she nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes! I will!" she replied. He smiled and gave an approving nod.

A while afterwards, they returned to his house.

"Make yourself at home; I need to get changed before I can accompany you back. So, just give me ten minutes." He told her

"O-okay." She replied. He entered the shower and felt the water run down his body again, as it had earlier in the day.

…

_Well done. You've passed the entire day without an incident. You should be proud!_ His mind seemed to have developed a consciousness of its own as he spoke to him.

"Shut up." He replied.

_What do you plan to do now?_

"I'll take her home, and then come back and get some rest. Simple."

_Do you really think it will be that simple?_

"…I hope so."

…

The night was silent as they walked through the empty streets of Konoha towards the Hyuuga residence. Side-by-side they approached the front gate.

"Thank you again for taking care of me." Hinata told him as she bowed her head.

"It was no problem, Hinata, don't worry about it." He modestly replied. He gave her a smile and turned to start heading home until he felt a tug on his jacket. He stopped in his tracks and turned to face her.

"N-Naruto-kun. You told me to be bolder…to be stronger." She stated. He looked at her and nodded uneasily. Her hands reached out, strongly grasped his jacket, and pulled him towards her. Before he could recover, their lips connected; eyes closing in unison as she brought her hands to his face and held him. Naruto's hands started to slowly move down her body, feeling her curves on their way down.

Then he caught himself.

Swiftly, he pulled away. His hands let go of her body; his face broke away from her grasp. Their eyes stared into each other in surprise and disbelief. His eyes shifted down.

"Hinata…I'm…I'm sorry. But I can't do this. I~"

"Naruto-kun! I love you!" She shouted. He took a deep breath and turned away.

"I'm sorry, Hinata. But there's someone else I love, and I can't betray her. If I did, I wouldn't be able to live with myself…I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen." It was almost as if he could hear her tears hitting the dirt as they fell from her eyes. He turned around and began to walk down the road home. Halfway to his house, he started to think to himself.

…

_Do you regret doing that?_

"Kissing her?"

_No…Do you regret rejecting her?_ His mind went blank for a minute

"No. I don't regret it…I can't…I can't be unfaithful"

_Are you trying to convince yourself? If you believe this to be true, then why is there such a painful feeling in your heart?_

"Even if I don't love her…I still care about her. I know that I hurt her, which is my regret. But even if this darkness clouds my mind…I still have the light in my heart that will shine through that darkness."

There was no reply to his statement.

The doubt in his heart was gone.

…

He continued walking home, but something tore at his consciousness, He needed to talk to her, it would rip away at his very soul if he kept this secret from her, he couldn't bear the thought of carrying a lie from the one he loved so dearly; as he listened to his footfalls on the dirt floor, he started to sing a song he heard on the radio.

_"I'm coming home to you…every night….every night…every night…every night."_

_"I'm the colorless sunrise, that's never good enough."_

_"I'm the wind that's in your hair that ruffles you up."_

_"If you can find a reason, you can let me know."_

_"I won't blame you; I'll just turn and go…"_

_"I'm coming home to you…every night….every night…every night…every night. "_

_"Coming home to you…every night….every night…every night…every night."_

_"My mind is made up. Nothing could change that."_

_"I'm coming home to you…every night….every night…every night…every night."_

_"Searching to find myself, but all I find is you."_

_"I can hardly stand myself, so what am I to you?"_

_"If you can find a reason, you could let me know."_

_"I won't blame you; I'll just turn and go."_

_"…No matter, no matter what we're facing."_

_"It don't matter, don't matter."_

_"'cause the reason that I'm here, is the same through all these years."_

_"Not changing, not changing…Anything at all."_

The lyrics left an impression in his heart.

He knew that he loved her, more so than anyone else.

But he also knew that tonight may be the last night that they would be together.

…

Before he'd realized it, he stood in front of the door to her house. His hand floated to the door and knocked on it three times. He heard footsteps dropping on the stairs as someone rushed to answer the door.

"Who is it?" he heard her shout.

"It's me, Naruto." He replied. He heard the clicking of the doors locks and the turning of the doorknob.

"Naruto? What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I-I need to talk to you, Sakura-chan. May I come in?" She gave him a smile and motioned for him to enter.

"We can go into my room." She said as she took his hand and led him up the steps. When they entered her room, she sat down on the bed and invited him next to her.

"Sakura-chan…Today…I did something that I really regret." He started. He saw that she was confused, but curious. "Today, while I was walking Hinata home…" his voice trailed off. He brought his eyes up and met hers. "I-I kissed her…I'm…I'm sorry." He looked at her again and noticed that her head was now held low.

"You…" she began. "You kissed her?"

"Yes…I-I didn't mean for this to happen…I'm sorry." He stood up and turned to leave; but felt a tug on his jacket, just as he had earlier. He turned as she motioned for him to sit back down. She gently gripped his hands with hers.

"You kissed her…but…" Sakura brought her hands to his face and gripped it strongly. "…You came back to me." She pulled him towards her and strongly kissed him, grasping his hair, she pulled him down onto her. "You said I could ask you for anything." His eyes widened.

"Anything. Anytime. Anywhere." Her eyes narrowed as a smile stretched across her face.

"Correct the mistake you made tonight; right now; right here." She whispered.

* * *

-You can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she writes. So, let me explain my thought process for chapters 6 and 7.

-To put it metaphorically, I had my route planned out. I was going to go straight. But I looked at the path ahead of me, and realized that I didn't want to go in that direction. So I took a U-turn.

-Chapter 7 is nothing like how I had envisioned it two days ago. I said that "something new" was coming up. But it didn't.

Here's why.

-I'm well aware that I'm sharing this with perhaps hundreds of strangers, but hell, I don't mind, after all, I'm a total stranger to you also.

-The struggle that Naruto faced in these two chapters is what I was facing when I was trying to decide how to write these two chapters.

-He struggled with Hinata's feelings, as I struggled with my feelings about trying to write a different scene than I've been writing since I started here.

-In this chapter, he made the right choice, I couldn't have him become unfaithful to Sakura after I had painted him in this image.

-And just like how he made the right choice, I believe I made the right choice also, deciding to change the chapter.

-Next chapter is going to be rated M. I'm sure you know why.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it.

**SONG LYRICS: Imagine Dragons - Every Night**...a perfect song for the pairing.


	8. Forever Faithful

**CHAPTER RATING: M**

* * *

**Episode 8: Forever Faithful**

_"Correct the mistake you made tonight; right now; right here."_

Her words echoed within the deep recesses of his mind as he focused on her eyes. It felt like an eternity while he looked into her eyes. But in reality, he immediately acted upon her request, and brought his lips down upon hers. Sakura's hands slowly ran through his golden hair as she gently pushed him closer. He placed his hands on her hips, holding them softly to keep himself supported, his mind almost going numb from the sensation of feeling her beautiful figure.

Their lips danced together as they came into contact. He felt strong vibrations in his throat when she let out a deep moan from under her breath. Sakura untied his headband and tossed it aside with a sharp click as it hit the floor. Taking hold of his hair again, she slowly sunk her teeth into his lower lip, before she embraced his tongue with hers. Welcoming every movement she made, he moved his tongue against hers and lost himself in the contact. The wet kiss built on their lips as it overflowed and began to slowly slide down Sakura's neck. He felt his worries melt away in the heated passion of the moment.

With their lips still locked, Naruto's hand grasped the zipper on Sakura's scarlet vest and started to move down the length of her body. They both heard the seams clicking with every separation. The best opened and slowly slid down the sides of Sakura's body. Slowly he slid his right hand back up her body towards her breasts and gently grasped them. In surprise, Sakura turned her head away from his, her eyes still closed in ecstasy and her face flushed with red. Through her heavy panting he heard her whisper his name.

"N-Naruto…" He slightly tensed his grip on her soft breasts; Sakura let out another gasp for air while arching her back and sinking her head deeper into the mattress of her bed. He leaned in closer to her ear and let out a soft breath into it as he whispered her name.

"Sakura-chan…" He slowly descended down her body, letting his lips feel and kiss every inch along the way. Sakura's hand released his hair from their grasp as they fell to her sides. Naruto slowly lowered himself onto his knees. Sakura's muscles tensed as she felt Naruto's tongue move across her hard nipples. She could feel every movement he made with his tongue, every rotation and every push.

He marveled at her body, her emerald eyes, only complimented by her glowing pale skin. Slowly advancing further down, his left hand slid down her smooth skin, and halted once they reached her signature black shorts. His hand softly slid under the cloth as he felt her heat upon his fingers. Sakura's body shivered at the anticipation as she felt his presence. Her hands shot up to his hair and brought his lips to hers. He felt how wet she had become as his fingers gently entered her. Sakura felt every twitch, every movement, and every motion that he made, each one bringing with it a sensation of pleasure that echoed throughout her whole body. With their lips still joined, Sakura slowly began to sit up. Her left hand undid his zipper, letting his jacket fall to the floor. She stood, causing Naruto to obediently follow, getting back on his feet.

Her hands moved down his body and felt him through his pants. Their lips separated as he let out a soft moan at the feeling. Her fingers inched towards his zipper as she kissed him again; caught in the pleasure that surged through his body, Naruto found that Sakura was pushing him backwards; he made contact with the wall behind him as he felt her tongue moving in his mouth and her hand gently caressing him. Her steps towards him were slow and long, with each step that she took, her pair of black shorts began to slip further and further down until they hit the floor. He knees weakening at the warmth that radiated from her body; he began to slip down the wall as his knees gave way.

To his surprise, he found that he had fallen into a chair. Sakura's arms began to wrap around his neck as she broke away from their kiss. Naruto's eyes opened to meet hers. Sakura's eyes narrowed as a curve stretched across her lips. Lifting herself up, she straddled his lap. Their heads rolled back in ecstasy as she lowered herself on him. They both let out deep breaths at the sensation. Sakura began to rotate her hips, gradually, she entered a rhythm; His hands moved down her body, embracing her breasts while they moved down to her hips, with his firm grip on her, his hands began to mimic her movements. Her embracing arms began to urge him forward. He moved his hands below her legs, finding a revitalized strength in his knees, he began to slowly lift her up.

Unprepared for this, Sakura let out a strong gasp for air. Her face became red as she hung onto him for dear life. He felt himself moving deeper into her as he stood. Shivers of pleasure surged through Sakura's skin as Naruto began to advance towards the bed. Gently, he laid her down. She grabbed his hair and pulled him to his side. She turned him again until he was laid down onto his back.

"I'll take the lead." She whispered gently while smiling. He smiled with a soft facial expression before she firmly kissed him as she had so many nights ago. Her arms wrapped around his body as his arms moved to embrace her. They pulled each other close as Sakura began to move with an even greater speed. Vibrations echoed throughout their bodies as the warmth of their contact began to merge, engulfing them both in a cloud of passion. Naruto's head snapped back and sunk into the mattress of the bed.

"Sakura-chan…I~" She immediately met his lips with hers again. Their backs arched in one single moment of climax that seemed to last for ages. As she felt him inside her, she brought her face to his and gazed deeply into his sapphire eyes.

"I love you, Naruto."

"I love you too, Sakura-chan…and I always will."

* * *

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it.

Now it's time for me to take a break.

Episode 9 will appear when it appears.


	9. Uzumaki Naruto, Personal Escort

Before you start reading, I want to give out a sincere Thank You to all of those who are reading this.

The only thing that keeps me writing, is knowing that there are people willing to read it.

Thank you all so much.

Oh, and vocabulary note: Okonomiyaki is a dish from Japan that is like a pancake with various toppings cooked inside it.

**CHAPTER RATING: T**

* * *

**Episode 9: Uzumaki Naruto, Personal Escort**

Kakashi slowly walked up the steps to Sakura's house; taking a few minutes to look up from his prized possession, he raised his right hand and knocked on the door.

"Coming!" he heard a voice shout while patiently waiting for the door to open. As the door slowly opened as he saw Sakura. "Kakashi-sensei! What are you doing here?"

"I've got orders from Hokage-sama, she wants me to train you."

"Train me?"

"Yes, she wants me to find out your chakra affinity, just like how I did for Naruto." He explained. "Speaking of which, where is Naruto?" Kakashi questioned. As he finished his sentence, he saw a small piece of black fabric protruding from the entryway of the kitchen. He gave Sakura a blank stare as he noticed that she was beginning to blush with a nervous smile.

"I see…" Kakashi started again, "Well, if you see him, tell him that I need to talk to him. We have a task that only he can accomplish." With her face still rose red, Sakura nodded. "When you get a hold of him, meet me by the library, we'll talk from there." Kakashi said while turning around. Before his foot touched the ground, he sarcastically added, "You two should take it a little easier, it's only been eight days since we've returned."

With that last remark, Sakura closed the door, with a smirk on her face.

…

Sometime later, the two of them exited the house, and began to walk towards the library. Naruto strolled with his head rested on his hands, looking up towards the sky, while Sakura walked alongside him.

"So, what do you think this assignment for you will be?" Sakura asked. Naruto didn't reply, he didn't even react to her question. "Naruto! Did you hear me?!" she shouted at him and delivered a forceful shove to his arm. Naruto was caught off balance and stumbled a few steps before answering.

"Yeah, sorry…I don't know..." His mind seemed to have wandered somewhere else before he looked at her sincerely, took hold of her hands and added: "Sakura-chan…I'm really sorry for what I did last night. Can you forgive me?" Sakura pulled away and crossed her arms as she turned away. Naruto's face drooped with depression.

"How can I forgive you now…" Sakura started, Naruto saw the beauty in her eyes as she turned around to face him. "…when I forgave you last night?" His face brightened with a smile as he heard her speak; together they continued walking to the library.

…

As the two reached the library steps, they noticed two figures waiting for them by the entryway.

"Yamato-taichou!" Naruto screamed out while waving his hand. "What are you doing here?"

"Hey, Naruto." He replied with a smile. "I'm actually here to accompany you to the Intelligence Division, you're needed there." Naruto's eyes widened as he wondered what his assignment was.

"Sakura." Kakashi said to get her attention, "You're coming with me, we're headed to the training ground." Sakura nodded.

They both smiled at each other while going their separate ways.

…

"So, what is this assignment, Yamato-taichou?" Naruto asked. "Is it some scouting mission, or something? Why is it that I am the only one who can do it?"

"Well, Naruto, you're assignment is to keep a V.I.P company for the day." Yamato replied.

"V.I.P?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"Very Important Person." Yamato replied as Naruto wisely gripped his chin and nodded his head. "The reason why only you can do this is because; you have been specifically requested by this V.I.P."

"I have been specifically requested? Who is this V.I.P?" Naruto questioned.

"We're almost there, just be patient, just in here." Yamato replied as he held open the door for Naruto to step into the Konoha Intelligence Division building. While Naruto walked through the crowded office building, he could hear a very loud voice among the beeping and clicking of computers and keyboards.

"I'M NOT TELLING YOU JARHEADS ANYTHING! I'M NOT GOING TO ANSWER ANY OF YOUR QUESTIONS! SO STOP ASKING ALL OF THESE DAMN QUESTIONS! YOU CAN'T GET ANY ANSWERS OUT OF ME!" the voice shouted in a loud, harsh tone.

A man with a large, imposing figure and a scarred face stepped out of the room. He held his face in his palm while shaking his head. He brought his head up temporarily to face Yamato.

"You're here, does that mean that you have Naruto with you?" he asked. Yamato nodded and took a step back. Naruto started at this man in awe, and then he realized who this man was.

"AH! You're that guy that was testing us for the Chuunin Exams!" Naruto shouted. The man nodded and answered back.

"Yes I am, and it's good that you're here, we need you. Now." Yamato gently pushed Naruto forward into the interrogation room.

"Her name is Karin." He whispered to Naruto.

"YOU DUMBASSES STILL DON'T UNDERSTAND! I WON'T TELL YOU ANY~" the voice belonged to a girl with dark tinted magenta colored hair. Her voice slowly trailed off as Naruto stepped into the room. He noticed Karin adjust her glasses as he came closer to her. His face held a genuine smile as he looked at her. He saw her face soften in its expression as she gazed at him. She gently motioned for him to come closer; as he did she whispered into his ear. Her voice was softer now than it was just moments ago, it almost seemed timid.

"…I don't want to be here." She whispered into his ear. He turned to face her, and with a gentle smile, nodded his head. Naruto abruptly stood up and made his way back through the entrance way.

"Yamato-taichou, she says that she 'doesn't want to be here.' What do you want me to do?" Yamato looked around the room and nodded at the Intel personnel.

"It's up to you now, Naruto. You decide. You're the only one who can get any information from her." He answered with a wink. Naruto's face was dumbfounded in shock. "Just remember that whatever you say, you have to follow through with it. Also, it's best to cooperate with her, no matter what she asks for." Naruto stood still in deep confusion and thought.

"I'm going to have to ask that you all clear the way for me when I come back then, I know what I'll do." Naruto replied. As he entered the interrogation room again, his bright smile seemed to outshine the only light in the room. With his gentle smile, he extended a hand towards her.

"Come with me, Karin-chan. I'll take you away from here."

…

"Okay, the first thing we'll do is see what your chakra affinity is." Kakashi told her as he removed a pack of paper from a pocket in his flak jacket. "I'm sure I don't have to explain as much to you as I had to explain to Naruto."

Sakura slightly giggled as Kakashi smiled. He handed her a piece of paper.

"Run your Chakra through this piece of paper…it'll tell us what your affinity is. If it wrinkles, your affinity is Lightning. If it incinerates, your affinity is Fire. If it becomes soaked, your affinity is Water, if it crumbles, your affinity is Earth; and if it tears in half, your affinity is Wind."

Sakura took hold of the paper between her fingers, and closed her eyes. Not long after, they both heard the rippling of paper flowing in the wind. Sakura gently let go of the pieces of paper as they blew away with the breeze.

"Wind, huh? Pretty interesting." Kakashi told Sakura

"What's so interesting about wind?" Sakura asked.

"Wind-natured Chakra is very…very rare. Not only that, but it's also Naruto's affinity."

"Naruto has the same affinity?"

"That's right." Kakashi answered. "With that determined, let's move onto creating your own technique…"

…

Karin reached up to Naruto's hand and tightly grasped it; feeling her grip, Naruto firmly held onto her hand as he pulled her up to her feet. He turned and began to lead them out of the facility. While bobbing and weaving through the crowd of people, he noticed that her grip was loosening, and naturally, tightened his grip on her hand.

As they walked out of the building, he slowly let go of her hand and turned to face her.

"Doesn't it feel great to be outside?!" he shouted with a big gasp of air. She didn't answer. Naruto smiled and turned around. "Why don't I show you around the village? Follow me…Oh, my name's Naruto by the way. Uzumaki Naruto."

"N-Naruto?" she quietly let out; turning his head, Naruto felt her grab onto his hand and hold it tightly. He smiled nervously as he looked at her.

"Uh…What do you like to eat?" he asked. He watched as she removed her glasses, put them in a case and slid the case into her pocket.

"Okonomiyaki." She replied with a smile. He smiled back at her as he answered.

"I know the perfect place. They make everything there"

He pulled her by her hand, and rushed to Ichiraku BARBE-Q. A smile stretch across her face as he pulled her along.

Naruto burst through the door of Ichiraku BARBE-Q with a giant smile on his face, dragging Karin along with him.

"Ayame-neechan! Could I get a private booth for two?" He asked the woman behind the counter; who smiled at him as she replied.

"Right away, Naruto…Who's this girl?" she asked curiously. Karin gripped Naruto's hand tighter.

"She's a friend of mine, her name's Karin."

"Nice to meet you, Karin-chan." Ayame greeted her.

"N-nice to meet you." Karin replied back. Ayame turned to lead them towards the back of the restaurant. They were led through to the back of the restaurant, the lights were dimmer and the noise from the main room was dying down the further they moved in. They sat across from each other. Ayame smiled at them.

"What would you like?" she asked. Naruto turned his head as he answered.

"Could I have the usual?" Naruto asked as Ayame nodded while writing the order down on an order ticket.

"Karin-chan, what would you like?" Ayame asked.

"Okonomiyaki, please." Karin replied quietly.

"Oh, that reminds me!" Ayame enthusiastically replied. "We have something new that we can let you two try out!" She immediately darted back towards the kitchen, and soon returned with a portable stove, and frying pan. "These tables don't have the grills in them, so instead, we bring out these stoves. We'll bring you the ingredients and you can customize your Okonomiyaki as you like."

"Wow, really?!" Naruto shouted. "That seems really cool; thank you, Ayame-neechan!" Ayame smiled, turned around, and headed back towards the kitchen.

"I'll be back soon with the ingredients!" she shouted while walking down the hallway.

"So…" Naruto attempted to start up a conversation. "If I remember correctly, we brought you to Konoha just eight days ago. Have you been locked up ever since?"

Karin nodded.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Naruto nervously replied. "Most of the time, Konoha is a really nice place. The people are also usually very caring and welcoming."

To Naruto's surprise, Karin nodded as if she knew.

"There's something about this place." She began. "There's warmth here that doesn't exist anywhere else that I've seen." Naruto smiled and nodded at what seemed to be a compliment. Karin moved her hand and gently brushed it against Naruto's. "There's something about you, too." Naruto's face held an expression of confusion

"I…uh…" he was interrupted by the sound of Ayame dashing back to their table with a giant tray holding everything that they had ordered.

"Here's everything!" she shouted while turning around.

"Whoa! Thanks Ayame-neechan! It looks delicious!" Naruto shouted. The food was so delicious, in fact that Naruto soon forgot about the awkward moment that he had just had, and the time passed by quickly.

"Thanks again!" Naruto shouted as he exited the restaurant. The sun was beginning to set. Naruto began to walk home when his mind started to wander about Karin.

_What am I supposed to do now? Yamato-taichou said that it was up to me, and I haven't actually gotten any sort of information from her…She doesn't seem to cooperate in that jail, so…Maybe I should…_

Naruto turned around, placed his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. With a friendly smile, he asked her:

"Karin-chan, how would you like to come home with me?" She blushed, his smile broke into confusion at the implication he may have just made. Nervously smiling and laughing, he corrected himself. "I-I mean, you'd much prefer to be in a comfortable house instead of a jail cell, right?...Right! Okay, follow me!" Naruto said with confidence. He firmly grasped her hand and led her back to his home.

Halfway to his home, he noticed that Karin had tightened her grip around his hand. He took a deep sigh as he remembered Yamato's words.

"_It's best to cooperate with her, no matter what she asks for._'

She moved closer, and embraced his arm, which surged with heat as he felt her body against it. Blood flooded his face as he repeated the words in his mind.

"_It's best to cooperate with her, no matter what she asks for._'

Before he could grasp the gravity of the actions she was taking, he felt her magenta hair against the fabric of his jacket. Karin's head now rested on his arm as they walked together. He took another deep breath.

_What have I just done?_


	10. Her Preferred Method of Persuasion

Thank you all for reading; it's the only thing that keeps me writing.

**CHAPTER RATING: M**

* * *

**Episode 10: Her Preferred Method of Persuasion**

"Hey, are you alright?" Naruto asked Karin, he began to notice that she was beginning to sway as they walked to his house.

"I'm just a little tired, that's all." Karin replied. Naruto's eyes lightened up as he had an idea.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" A single clone appeared beside him. "Alright, you know the drill." The clone squatted down and gave Karin a piggyback ride on the way home. Before long, it seemed as if Karin was asleep. Naruto spared a glance at his clone.

"How's it feel?" he asked with a grin.

"Well…I won't lie; I don't dislike the feeling of having a woman's chest against my back." The clone replied with an even wider grin. As they climbed the steps, Naruto unlocked the door.

"Just lay her down on the bed. Good work, I appreciate it." The clone nodded, acknowledging his words and disappeared. Naruto peeked into his room to check on her one last time; when he was sure that she was asleep, he stepped into the bathroom, disrobed, and entered the shower.

_Well, it looks like you won't get any information out of her tonight._

His thoughts wandered as he felt the warm water collide with his skin.

_So, it looks like I'll need to spend another day with her, I hope I can get some sort of information._

He turned the knob and felt the water subside. The condensation from the hot water covered the mirror as he put on a pair of blue boxers and a white shirt. He stepped out of the bathroom, and made his way to the living room, he nearly slipped as he saw her standing before him.

"K-Karin-chan? What are you doing up? I thought you were tired." He abruptly said.

"Actually, Naruto. I want to tell you something." She calmly replied.

"What is it?" he asked as he heard a certain tone in her voice.

"You want to know about Sasuke, don't you?" Naruto firmly nodded. She took his hand and dragged him along and gently squeezed his hand while looking into his eyes.

"I'll tell you everything I know." She said to him.

"Oh, that's great." He replied to her.

"But first...you have to do something for me." She demanded.

"W-What's that?" he nervously replied.

She slowly wrapped her arms around his neck; blood rushed to his face. He began to raise his hand to push her away until he remembered Yamato's words.

"_It's best to cooperate with her, no matter what she asks for._"

"_It's best to cooperate with her, no matter what she asks for._"

"_It's best to cooperate with her, no matter what she asks for._"

Reluctantly, his hand slowly sunk down.

Then another thought entered his mind.

_How can I forgive you now…When I forgave you last night._

Suddenly, he felt a pressure against his lips. His eyes shot open in surprise as he felt it. She slightly pulled away while gently biting his lower lip. With their lips separated, his knees became weak, his eyes suddenly lost focus, and he collapsed onto the couch. He body seemingly became weaker, he closed his eyelids momentarily. When he opened his eyes he saw her straddled over him.

With his eyes half open, he saw her come closer to him and plant another passion-filled kiss on his lips. She bit down on his lips once more, and he felt the energy leave his body again. His arms went limp and fell onto the couch, lifeless.

"Y-you…" he tried to protest, but he was interrupted again by her as she kissed him again, he felt her tongue against his, slowly caressing it, instinctively, his tongue began to actively move against hers. She pulled her lips from his as he took quick and shallow breaths. Karin pulled away her glasses, and as he looked into her eyes, it was almost as if she was a different person. Her eyes narrowed as a smile stretched across her lips.

"Do you remember what I said about you being special?" She said while running her hand down his chest. "There's something about you…about your chakra. It just makes me want to…" He took a deep breath and tried to protest, but he found that no words came out of his mouth.

Karin placed two fingers on Naruto's mouth, silencing any possible complaints he may have had.

"Don't deny this." She said in a seductive voice. "You want this, don't you?" Naruto's head slightly sunk down. "Don't fight it, there's a reason why the blood in your arms is gone, but there's still blood down here." She reached down into his boxer shorts and wrapped her hand around him with a strong, firm grip. He let out a soft moan as he felt her cold grip on him. "You can't hide your emotions from me; I can read your pulse." She whispered into his ear and she moved her lips towards his again.

His eyes slightly twitched with every movement she made with her hand. He gently bit down on her lip and heard her let out a quiet moan. He then felt something strange, strength was returning to him.

She started to move down the length of his body. His face expressed confusion and joy simultaneously.

_Is this what I really want?_ He questioned himself.

Before he could answer himself, he felt her mouth wrap around him. With that intense sensation, his thoughts broke. His nerves echoed with an intense pleasure. Karin began to move slowly, gradually moving faster as time passed by. Naruto raised a hand to her head, in his best efforts; he tried to push her away.

But that isn't what happened.

Instead, he found that his hand placed itself upon her head, intertwined in her magenta hair, encouraging her.

_Am I really doing this?...I am really doing this._ He thought to himself.

His head shot back and sunk into the couch as he felt himself climax. His mouth opened with his lungs contracting as he let out deep breaths. Karin didn't move, instead, she took everything in.

Slowly, she stood up and pulled off her pants.

"I see that you're really enjoying this." She said as he noticed how hard he still was. He let out a small smile as she began to rub herself against him.

"If you really read my heart, then I shouldn't even try to hide it." He declared.

She smiled back and gave him another firm kiss. As she broke away, her hand moved down her own body and slid her panties aside. The both let out audible moans of intense pleasure as he entered her. She began to rotate her hips, causing him to moan even louder. His hand moved to her chin, moving down her body as he undid her zipper. She eased the tension in her arms as the shirt fell to the floor; his hands moved back up her body and grasped her soft breasts.

Feeling his strong grip upon her, she let out a loud moan and deep gasps. His hands moved down her body, feeling every inch along the way. She felt every one of his fingers rubbing against her as his hands moved to her hips, each sending a shockwave through her nervous system.

His hands wrapped themselves against her hips as he began to gradually push her along, encouraging her to move faster. He heard her screams as she felt him inside her. Her body shook with a strike of ecstasy as she lost all strength and fell down upon him. He felt her body against his and lifted her up by her hips.

Unexpectedly, she began to move again, slowly moving up and down. He felt her tongue against his again, vibrations of pleasure echoed through his throat as he heard her moan.

She started to move faster.

"N-Naruto." She started. "Are you ready?" He couldn't answer, but merely nodded. His eyes closed as she felt him fill her again. She turned her head and invited him to turn his; they kissed again, tongues intertwining in the parting of their lips.

"As I promised, I'll answer all of your questions." She said at last.

Naruto smiled "I don't even care anymore." he bent over and kissed her again as he pushed her down onto the couch.

…

After their heated moment, Naruto made sure that Karin was asleep. Once he was sure, he gently laid her down, stood up and made his way to the bathroom. As he was a foot away, he saw it crack open; another Naruto stepped out of the bathroom as he approached it.

The Naruto from the bathroom looked at him, grinning.

""How'd it go?" he curiously asked.

"It went well, I'm sure she'll answer all of Yamato-taichou's questions now."

The Naruto who exited the bathroom extended a fist.

"Good work." The other Naruto met his fist with his own.

"Anytime." He said, and then he disappeared into a cloud of smoke.

Naruto gently opened the door to his room, fell into his bed and closed his eyes.

* * *

1:22 PM - Central Time (U.S)

I just found out that Karin is part of the Uzumaki Clan. :O

Damn...My bad.


	11. Lost Light

This was bothering me the whole day, I needed to get this episode out ASAP.

Thanks for reading

**CHAPTER RATING: T**

* * *

**Episode 11: Forgotten, Part I: Lost Light**

"Good! Sakura! We can take a break now!" Kakashi shouted. Sakura moved her arm and wiped her brow. "We'll resume your training in a few minutes, come take a rest." He said as he motioned for her towards the waterfall. Kakashi offered Sakura a seat next to him, which she gratefully took.

"You're making great progress, I suspect that you won't need too much time now until you can fully get it down." He observed. "Is something wrong?" he asked her.

"Kakashi-sensei, do you think that Tsunade-sama was right about Naruto? Do you think he can…"

"I don't doubt him one bit." He answered immediately. Sakura's eyes widened at his interruption.

"You're right. I shouldn't have doubted him, either." She smiled back at him with assurance.

…

Naruto opened his eyes, and shook his head as he woke up; he saw a figure sitting at the end of his bed. He smiled, expecting to see her pink hair and emerald eyes.

Instead he saw magenta hair, and scarlet eyes. He tried to sit up, but his hands wouldn't move. He glared up and noticed that they were tied to his bed posts. He glanced down at his feet, and noticed that they too, were restrained.

He heard the snap of a pocket knife.

"What are you going to do?" he fiercely asked. She didn't answer, but brought the blade up to his neck. He braced for the worst as he felt the cold steel against his skin. To his surprise, no pain shot through him, instead he heard several pops as the knife created rips in his shirt.

"I don't appreciate what you did to me last night." Karin said while looking at him with narrow eyes. She brought her hands to his chest, and with one swift motion, ripped his shirt in half.

"AH! THAT WAS MY FAVORITE SHIRT!" he protested. She swiftly tugged the shirt and pulled it from underneath him. Naruto's mouth and eyes hung open as he saw her take it, bring it to her face and take a deep breath. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" he shouted.

"What's wrong with me? You lied to me last night." Karin answered in a dark tone. "I'm going to do to you what I was planning to do to Sasuke." A grin stretched over her face.

"What the hell are you going to do?" Naruto demanded to know as his eyes narrowed.

"Your clone didn't notice anything? Why do you think you fell asleep so fast?" She replied. Naruto thought back to what had happened the previous night.

"Every time you bit down on my lip…I became weaker." Her hand moved down his chest as she brought her face closer to his.

"I can take you chakra, Naruto." His eyes widened at her words. She came even closer to him. His eyes closed as she kissed him; pulling away, he felt her sink her teeth into his lower lip again. Just as she had said, he felt his body weaken, his body sunk into the mattress, powerless as his limbs were restrained.

"Wait…y-you can't do this, if you take my chakra, the Nine-tails will take over." He gasped. She bent over again over his ear.

"I'm only going to take enough to put you to sleep. Then, I'll ravish you, just like I planned to do to Sasuke." Her lips made contact with his again as his eyelids became heavier.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

"Naruto?! Open up, it's me, Yamato!" he heard echo from behind the door.

"Yamato-taichou!...HELP!" Naruto screamed with all of the energy he had left. She forcefully pushed him down and took his head into her hands.

"I'll make sure you don't even remember this." She whispered into his ear. Her teeth made contact with his neck and fiercely bit down. He let out a blood-freezing scream.

"Naruto?!" he heard a scream from behind the door. The next sound he heard was a loud smash. The last thing he saw was the devious smile on Karin's face as his eyelids closed, and his world went black.

…

The sound of dripping water woke him up as he stared into a pitch black ceiling; water partially submerged his body.

"**Naruto…"** a deep, evil voice called out to him.

"What do you want, you bastard fox." he replied sluggishly.

"**Well, well, well. Look at who is suddenly a big shot. You have a loud mouth, but you can't do anything. You can't even move." **Naruto tried to move his fingers, but they didn't even twitch.

"Damn it." He whispered out loud.

"**This seems familiar, doesn't it?"** The Nine-tails asked provokingly. Naruto didn't respond to his taunting, he merely closed his eyes and tried to focus on his movements.

"**If I recall…"** The Nine-tails stated in his deep voice. **"There was a woman name Fuuka who did this to you."** Naruto's eyes twitched at the memory.

"**Yes, the same thing happened. You were nearly drained of all your chakra.**" A grin appeared on the Nine-tail's jaw, revealing his massive and sharp teeth. "**You have no one to blame but yourself for your own stupidity."**

Naruto flinched at the statement.

**Your kindness is your weakness. **

**You've forgotten the most important thing about being a Jinchuuriki…**

**You are alone.**

**You have always been alone. **

**You will always be alone. **

**No one has ever cared for you.**

**No one has ever loved you. **

**They have only lied to you. **

**They lied to you because they despised you.**

**Now they lied to you because they realize how gullible you really are.**

**You're such a worthless human being, your only worth is that I am still trapped in here.**

Naruto couldn't find the strength to reply at the razor sharp words that left scars in his heart.

"**It is because of your kindness that you made the foolish decision to bring that woman to your home. It was your foolish decision to cooperate with her, no matter what her demands were. You're pathetic."**

"**You seem to have forgotten what you really are. You are a weapon and nothing else. Everyone you've known doesn't love you. You are merely a tool at the disposal of the Fifth Hokage. If I wasn't here, your existence would be meaningless."**

Naruto gritted his teeth at the barrage of hatred that assaulted his ears.

"**Now, do you remember what saved you the last time this happened?"**

Naruto froze in thought.

"Sakura-chan…she brought me back. Her love brought me back to life." His mind blanked for a moment, and as he opened his eyes he noticed that he now stood in front of the sealed gate. His back turned away from the Nine-tails.

"**The last time, you were saved by a light that shined in the darkness."** The Nine-tails pointed ahead of Naruto.

"**But look, where is the light that you reached out to?"**

"**Where is your 'light in the darkness' now?"**

Naruto tried to bring his eyesight into focus.

"**SHE'S GONE!"** the Nine-tails screamed out.

Naruto's eyes closed in despair; his knees gave way as he dropped down into the cold water.

The darkness swiftly engulfed him; his will to go on was lost.

_There is no light for me to follow; there is nothing…nothing but darkness._

* * *

I apologize if changing the title is confusing you. But I want to get a good subtitle to differentiate the different parts.

Thanks for reading


	12. Embers

This little story arc has almost come to an end.

**CHAPTER RATING: T**

* * *

**Episode 12: Forgotten, Part II: Embers**

"Yamato-taichou!...HELP!" Naruto shouted. Through the walls of Naruto's house, Yamato heard a cry for help, followed by a fear and pain-filled screech.

"Naruto?!" He shouted; panicked, he looked at the two other Chuunin that accompanied him; he brought his hands together, emitting a loud clap that sprouted a beam of wood, which broke through Naruto's door with a loud crack that created a giant cloud of dust in its wake.

"Naruto?! Where are you?!" Yamato shouted. Karin stepped out of Naruto's room with a devious smile on her face. Yamato clapped his hands again, another beam uprooted from the wooden floor and wrapped around her.

"You're too late." She said with a grin. Yamato rushed to Naruto's room; eyes expanding in shock as he saw Naruto's seemingly lifeless body lying before him, shirtless, with arms and legs restrained to the bed posts.

"Naruto! Are you okay?!" He asked out loud. Naruto was motionless, and didn't offer any sort of answer; more panic grasped him as he noticed blood trickling down Naruto's neck. Quickly, Yamato untied Naruto's arms and tried his best to stop the bleeding.

"Quick, we need to take Naruto to a hospital right away!" Yamato ordered "I'll restrain the girl, take Naruto there immediately!" The two Chuunin nodded, picked up Naruto and rushed outside.

"What did you do to him?" he asked her. She offered to him a grim gaze with a sinister smile.

"I had a taste of his chakra," she answered while licking her lips with a crimson-stained tongue. "He was so delicious, that I just had to take it all." Her grin widened as he saw him lower his head.

…

"So, what do you say? Should we call it a day?" Kakashi asked Sakura.

"Don't you think we can still continue? You're not worn out are you?" Sakura replied.

"Well," Kakashi said as he turned around. "We need more trees and Yamato's not here." Behind him, there were broken trees, wooden debris, bare tree trunks, and piles of leaves everywhere. Sakura turned around and nodded in acknowledgement of his observation. "It only proves that you're making great progress." Kakashi added with a smile.

A breeze picked up and took with it a giant cloud of dust as it passed by. They could both make out a silhouette approaching them as they waited. The figure was running towards them in what seemed like an extreme rush.

"Kakashi-sempai! Sakura!" it yelled out. Kakashi and Sakura were both surprised to see Yamato running towards them.

"Yamato, Good timing we need more trees!" Kakashi yelled out

"I can't right now, Something has happened to Naruto!"

"Naruto?!" both Kakashi and Sakura expressed out loud in shock.

"Yes, I'll explain on the way to the hospital, follow me!" Yamato insisted. Kakashi and Sakura quickly ran towards Yamato and began to follow. They ran side-by-side while Yamato explained the situation.

"You see, Naruto's assignment was to watch over Karin, that girl that we brought back to the village." He began to explain. "You see, she was with Sasuke. She had requested that Naruto personally accompany her; complying with her seemed to be the best way to obtain information, so we asked him to stay with her the entire day." Sakura and Kakashi nodded.

"However, he did something unexpected; he took her home last night." Sakura's eyes widened as her mouth shot open.

"HE WHAT?!" Sakura shouted

_He took her home?! That punk! I'll smash his face in!_

"He took her to his house." Yamato continued. "I don't know what they did last night, but today, when I went to check up on him, he was tied down onto his bed, and he didn't respond when I called his name. He also had a bite mark on his neck, which was bleeding when I found him."

Sakura's anger filled thoughts ceased.

_Tied down…? He's never done anything like that with me…Bite marks?_

"He's now in the hospital, he hasn't responded to anything we've tried. It seems he's in a coma."

"He's in a coma?" Kakashi asked. Yamato nodded. "What is it that she could have done to induce a coma onto him?" he said a loud.

"I don't know specifically, she said 'I had a taste of his chakra' when I confronted her about it."

Sakura flinched at the statement.

"She also went on to say that he was…" he took a deep sigh. "..She went on to say that 'He was so delicious, that I just had to take it all.' I don't know any specifics, but it sounds like she-"

"She took his chakra, somehow." Kakashi interrupted.

"It looks that way." Yamato agreed. They continued towards the hospital, unsure of what lay ahead of them.

_Naruto…please be okay._

…

The trio arrived in Naruto's hospital room minutes after the conversation. Sakura slowly opened the door and walked towards him. Naruto lay on a bed, motionless; medical wires used to monitor his body sprouted out from his bed sheets. Kakashi and Yamato stayed back while Sakura walked towards Naruto and desperately grasped his hand.

"Naruto…" she whispered. She opened the palm of his hand and placed it on her cheek. "Please, Naruto…Please, wake up." Naruto didn't respond. Sakura's eyes began to water; tears started to stream down her cheeks as she desperately held onto his hand. She tightly squeezed his hand with hers, wiping away her tears, she turned her head to Yamato.

"Yamato-taichou! Where is the person who did this?" she aggressively asked.

"Uh…well, she's over at the Intelligence Division Headquarters." replied

"Take me there." Sakura demanded

…

Sakura entered the Intelligence Division building with resolve in her eyes. With Kakashi and another shinobi guard as an escort, she approached a long corridor with one cell at the end of the hall. She approached the cell's bars and looked inside the dark room.

"Be careful now, we don't know much about her, but she did take Naruto's chakra, who knows what she could do to you." Kakashi warned her.

Sakura nodded. Inside the cell, they saw Karin, with her magenta hair and a sinister smile on her face. Her hands restrained by steel handcuffs. The guard took a stepped forward and unlocked the door. Sakura and Kakashi took a step into the cell, and then Karin spoke up.

"What do we have here?" she asked in a dark tone. "Didn't you two _escort_ me here?" she mocked them sarcastically. "Why are you here? Bothering me in my _excellent_ housing unit_?_"

"What you did to Naruto…Why?!" Sakura angrily asked.

"Why should I even bother answering you? What are you his girlfrien-"

"Because if you don't I'll break your jaw right now!" Sakura yelled as she grabbed Karin's shirt collar and pulled her fist back.

"Sakura!" Kakashi yelled as he jumped forward and held her arm back.

Karin began to chuckle.

"You **ARE** his **GIRLFRIEND**! Tell me, if you are, then why did he take **ME** home last night?!" Karin shouted mockingly. Sakura reared her arm back more, Kakashi tightened his grip. Her eyes burned with anger as she listened to Karin's words.

"But all of this doesn't even matter anymore…" Sakura's eyes opened in surprise. Karin's grin grew even more sinister. "After being with me, **he doesn't even remember you**." Sakura's head lowered in despair as she lowered her fist. Karin's grin grew even larger as she continually mocked Sakura. Kakashi brought his arm back, resting it on his side.

"If I ever…" Sakura forcefully brought her knee up; Karin felt a deep pain strike her midsection, causing her to gasp for air. "If I EVER see you again…I"LL KILL YOU!" Sakura yelled as she brought her fist up and forced it down to Karin's face, stopping within centimeters of connecting. She instantly released Karin's collar, causing Karin to fall to the floor with a loud thud. Sakura waited for another sarcastic remark from her but didn't hear anything. Karin was desperately gasping for air as she lay on the cold ground.

Sakura and Kakashi turned around, and left the facility as they heard the cell door shut behind them. Another grin stretched across Karin's lips as they left.

_He doesn't even remember you._

…

_Five Days Later…_

Kakashi stood with his back propped on the doorway to Naruto's hospital room. He quickly looked up from his precious copy of _Make-out Tactics_; Sakura had been sitting at Naruto's side for the last five days. Her hand tightly clasped to his.

_Naruto…What did that girl do to you that would cause Sakura so much pain?_

He loudly shut his book, causing Sakura to spare a glance his way. Kakashi nodded to her, turned around, and walked away.

The two of them were alone in the room. Sakura still grasped Naruto's hand tightly. Tears streamed down from her eyes, falling onto the white sheets of the hospital bed.

_Please, Naruto…wake up…_

In the corner of her eye, she saw him stir. Her face lit up with joy as he began to blink. Her grasp on his hand loosened as she saw him move his head. Naruto's eyes opened, blinking multiple times to clear his vision.

"Naruto! You're awake!" Sakura cried with joy. Naruto shifted his head and glanced at her.

"I'm awake…and in a hospital." Naruto started. "W-Who are you?" he asked Sakura.

Sakura's eyes grew in shock and surprise; more tears fell from her eyes as she recalled Karin's words.

_He doesn't even remember you._

"I-Is something wrong?" he asked her. She shook her head and wiped her eyes.

"No, we're just glad that you're finally awake. You've been in a coma for the last five days."

Sakura lowered her head as she added: "I was assigned to keep you company, and keep you safe. My name is Haruno Sakura."

"I see, well, thank you for looking after me, Haruno-san!" he enthusiastically said.

_Naruto…you've always called me "Sakura-chan"…have you really forgotten who I am?_

Sakura blankly stared at Naruto as her confused thoughts streamed through her mind. Naruto gave her a confused look. "So…how long do I have to stay here until I am good to leave?" he asked.

"Do you feel well enough to be discharged today?" Sakura asked. Naruto stretched out and yawned.

"I feel great!" he shouted. "Five days of rest? I feel like I can take on the world!" Sakura smiled at his joyous expression.

"Okay, stay here, I'll be right back." Sakura left the room and headed down to the main desk.

Minutes later, Sakura returned to Naruto's hospital room. He was already dressed in his usual clothing.

"Naruto, where did you get those clothes?" She asked him

"Oh, Haruno-san. I found them in that closet over there." He said while pointing to the other side of the room. "It's funny, I usually have a white shirt that I wear underneath it, but it wasn't there." He said while unzipping his jacket to reveal his bare chest. "Well, thank you again for taking care of me, maybe I'll see you around sometime!" he said while walking out of the door.

"Naruto, wait!" Sakura shouted as he just stepped out of the door. He stopped in his tracks and turned around. "I'm supposed to accompany you out of here until we're sure that you can take care of yourself again."

Naruto's face shown a questioning expression, then shifted into an innocent smile.

"Okay, I don't mind it if it's you, Haruno-san." His words brought a smile to Sakura's face.

_Somewhere, I'm still in his heart. I know it._

* * *

Yes, it IS an Amnesia story arc!

And yes, I realize that there are plot holes in the story.

"Why doesn't anyone else go to help Naruto? Why is it only Sakura?"

Because this story is about Naruto and Sakura, and no one else in particular. Right? Right.

Thanks for reading!


	13. Reigniting the Fire

**CHAPTER RATING: M**

* * *

**Episode 13: Forgotten, Part III: Reigniting the Fire**

"So, Haruno-san," Naruto spoke as they stepped out of the hospital. "You say that I've been in the hospital for five days."

"That's right, five days." Sakura replied. Naruto looked at her with ecstatic joy in his eyes. He reached down and grabbed her hands with a firm but gentle grip.

"Then, to celebrate, why don't we go get something to eat? My treat!" Naruto innocently asked; Sakura slightly blushed at the proposition.

_Why am I blushing? Acting like we've never gone on a date befo…_

Her thoughts stopped as she realized something.

…_We haven't gone on a date…ever. He's been asking me out since we were Genin, when he was just an immature child…and I've never even considered it. But now, it's as if everything has begun again. This time, he isn't a child anymore. The least I could do is accept his offer. It's my chance to make it up to him._

"Sure, I'd love to." Sakura softly answered.

"Great!" Naruto cried out as his hands broke free from hers. "I know this great place that makes my favorite food, ra-"

"Ramen." Sakura subtlety completed his thought. Naruto glanced at her with a puzzled look on his face.

"How did you know, Haruno-san?" he asked.

_Naruto, everyone knows your favorite food is ramen._ Sakura thought.

"Uh…The hospital keeps records of everyone's favorite foods and eating habits to cater to the patients needs easier." Sakura abruptly lied.

"Oh, really? That's great!" Naruto shouted in joy.

They walked next to each other towards the Ichiraku BARBE-Q restaurant, the high noon sun casted their shadows into one in front of them. Naruto walked with his hands behind his head, with his large priceless grin across his face. Sakura walked by him, her hands swaying at her sides, her head turned, staring blankly at Naruto.

_He looks like he doesn't have a care in the world._ She said while smiling. Her eyes began to glisten as she thought about the real fact that he had forgotten her, and forgotten their entire history together. Noticing that her tears started to fall, Naruto turned to her.

"H-Haruno-san? Is something wrong?" he asked.

Sakura brought her right hand up and wiped away her tears with her arm, shaking her head. He looked at her, with a small hint of panic in his eyes; he brought his hands, grasped her arms, and brought her to his chest with a gentle embrace. In surprise, her eyes widened.

"Don't worry, Haruno-san. Everything will be okay. I promise." He softly whispered.

_You say that…But I just don't know_.

Her eyes closed as she lowered her face into his chest, burying herself in the warmth of his presence. She brought her hands up and returned his embrace; her tears building even more. He gently pushed her back and looked into her eyes.

"Cheer up, Haruno-san. Everything will be okay, now…What do you say we get moving? I'm really hungry." He added. Sakura wiped her tears away and looked into his sapphire eyes.

"N-Naruto…" she whispered. His face lifted in acknowledgement of her voice. "Do you mind calling me 'Sakura-chan'?" His smile brightened even more.

"I'll gladly do that for you, _Sakura-chan._" He added while nodding. Sakura's face brightened as he answered her. He tightly gripped her hand and gently pulled her with a tug.

_That's step one._ She thought

A smile returned to her face as he pulled her along, with his gentle grip, she floated along with his every footstep.

Naruto busted through the doors of the restaurant with great gusto. Behind him, Sakura followed.

"Ayame-neechan! Could I get another table in the back?!" he shouted aloud. Ayame turned around and nodded enthusiastically.

"Of course, Naruto-kun! Follow me!" she quickly answered back. Naruto motioned for Sakura as he closely followed Ayame. "So, why are you two here? Are you two on a date?" Ayame asked. Both Naruto and Sakura blushed lightly while smiling.

They reached their table very soon and sat across from each other.

"So, what'll it be?" Ayame asked.

"Miso Chashu! Please." Naruto kindly answered. Ayame nodded while writing down the order on a notepad.

"Sakura-chan, what would you like?" Ayame asked.

"Anmitsu, please" Sakura replied.

"Dessert? Sure." Ayame answered back.

Ayame then darted back to the kitchen to fulfill their orders. Unexpectedly, Naruto brought up a question that Sakura was not prepared to answer.

"Sakura-chan, how did I enter my five day coma?" he abruptly asked. Sakura flinched at his question. She took a deep breath and gathered her thoughts.

"Well, Naruto…I personally don't know how you ended up in your coma. All I know is that Yamato-taichou found you unconscious on your bed one morning." She lied to him.

"I was unconscious on my bed? That sounds odd." He replied. Sakura lifted her head as she felt his hand grab onto hers. "Sakura-chan. I was glad that you were the one who was taking care of me." He added with a gentle smile. She felt her heart skip a beat and returned a smile to him for his words.

Ayame interrupted them with a dash towards their table. She placed down their orders and greeted them with a smile.

"Thank you, Ayame-neechan!" Naruto shouted.

"If you need anything else, just call me." She replied while walking back towards the kitchen. They both nodded happily.

"Itadakimasu!" they both said aloud before gleefully enjoying their meals.

_Naruto…is this how you would have really acted if I had gone with you on a date? To be honest…it's sweet. How had I never noticed this before…I'm sorry for ignoring you for so long, I hope that you can recover your memory soon, I swear that I will make it up to you._

Several hours passed by the time they finished eating; as they left, the sun began to set. In a familiar scene, there was a yellow moon rising in the sky. Slowly, they began to inch closer together. In the air of affection, both Naruto and Sakura had forgotten the "assignment" that Sakura had claimed she was attending to. To them, Sakura wasn't even watching after Naruto anymore, they were just together under the moonlight.

Slowly, they began to drift closer together. Before they realized it, their hands were intertwined. Sakura brought her left hand and gently placed it on his arm, holding him tightly; her head tilted and rested itself on his arm. Naruto tilted his own head, and rested it upon hers.

"Sakura-chan, could I ask you to accompany me home, I need to tell you something." Naruto asked.

"I'd love to." Sakura replied.

The moon was high in the sky when they arrived at his house; with an instinctive movement, he flipped the light switch.

"Naruto…do you mind if I take a shower?" Sakura abruptly asked. Naruto was surprised, but not wanting to be rude, he nodded.

"Feel free to do so." Sakura smiled and entered the bathroom. Naruto walked into his bedroom and closely studied his bed, noticing that a ripped white shirt lay bundled up on the floor; and oddly, there were four ropes tied to each of his bed posts. A slight pain shot through his head as he noticed the scene. Surprised at this, he sat down. Gently tapping his forehead, he repeated multiple times: "What happened? Try to remember, try to remember."

…

Sakura removed her clothes and slowly entered the shower as the water began to run down her body. As she felt the water stream down, she began to formulate a plan to help him regain his memory.

_What could I do to help him remember me?_

She began to recall many of the events that had happened to them over the years. There was one incident that stuck in her mind; the night when she had confessed to him, the night of her _real_ confession. There was something special that happened on that night; her decision was final.

…

Naruto sat on his bed, grasping his head in his hands, trying to remember what had happened. His thoughts were interrupted as he heard Sakura's voice.

"Naruto! Do you have anything that I could wear? I guess it didn't cross my mind that I only had one change of clothes."

"I-I'll try and find something." He answered back. Looking through his closet, he found that he really had nothing suited for a woman's body; trying his best to be quick about the subject, he swiftly took off his own jacket, walked towards the bathroom door and handed it to her with his head turned away. "H-here." He said with a cracking voice.

Sakura firmly grabbed onto the jacket and pulled it into the bathroom. She lightly blushed as she realized what he had handed her. Slowly, she slid on the jacket. Naruto, now shirtless headed back to his room and sat down. He placed his head in his hands again.

His heart stopped as the sound of the bathroom door entered his ears. His heart-rate rose to an even higher pace as every step she took echoed through his house. He took a deep breath as she walked into the room and sat down next to him, his head still held low.

"Naruto?...What's wrong?" Sakura asked him.

"N-Nothing." He answered back with blood rushing to his face. "It's just that…you know…you're only wearing my jacket." Sakura smiled at his observation. "Sakura-chan…I don't know how to say this to you…I mean, I know I've only met you today, but it feels like I've known you for a very long time."

Sakura stared at his back while she answered. Internally, she began to smile.

_Your mind might not know me, but I knew I was still in your heart._

Naruto's heart froze as he heard the zipper of his jacket slowly separating. Sakura's hand reached towards his and grasped it firmly.

"The truth is, Naruto…I've loved you for a long, long time." Slowly, she brought his hand up and placed it on her cheek. He turned his head and looked at her; his face was flushed in red. In the opening of his orange and black jacket, he saw her vibrant, pearl skin.

"S-Sakura-chan I-"

"Naruto, I love you…Don't you love me?" she interrupted him. Instantly, she saw a flicker of light in his eyes. His head slowly leaned back as he felt her lips on his. Sakura's passionate kiss left him speechless as he felt the gentle pressure on his lips. Slowly, she held him close and lowered him onto the bed.

His eyes closed and his senses heightened as he felt her tongue push against his. His tongue began to move against her as he felt vibrations from her quiet moaning. Sakura lifted her body off of him, separating their lips in one motion. Naruto looked deep into her emerald eyes with his own.

"I do, Sakura-chan." Sakura's ears detected something different in his voice.

"Naruto…did you regain you mem-" He quickly pulled her closer, this time, interrupting her with a kiss while turning her over onto her back. His hand slowly inched down her body, and slid under her black panties. Sakura closed her eyes with more pressure as she felt his hand upon her. His tongue pushed against hers with even more vigor as he felt how wet she had become. She moaned with every movement he made with his fingers. Naruto gently and slowly teased her with his fingers; her eyes shot open when she felt his thumb and index finger on her clitoris; greater intensity gripped her body as he gently caressed it, it felt as if every muscle in her body was pulsing with pleasure. Sakura's hands found their way to his head, and entangled themselves in his hair.

"N-Naruto!" she whispered as her body gave way to an earth shaking climax as every nerve in her body vibrated with great intensity. Gently she pulled him off, leting out shallow and desperate gasps to catch her breath.

"I would never forget you, Sakura-chan." He quietly whispered to her. He pushed aside his jacket that she wore and started to move down the length of her body, kissing every inch of her, with her hands urging him down. Naruto's hands took hold of Sakura's panties and pulled them off, letting them slide down her legs and fall to the floor. Her muscles tensed as she felt his tongue. Every motion he made sent shivers of pleasure throughout her entire body; with every sensation, her handle on his hair grew tighter; she forcefully pulled him up to her lips and turned him over onto his back.

"Relax Naruto, I'll take it from here." Sakura whispered into his ear as her hand began to slide down his bare chest to his pelvis. He felt a gentle pressure running down his body as her soft skin rubbed against his. She brought her lips to his again with newly found aggression. He felt her tongue enter his mouth with a new pressure as he pushed against hers. Anticipation seemed to slow time as Sakura placed her fingers on his zipper and began to unzip his pants.

His eyes now closed tighter as he felt her grip the base of his erect penis. He let out a soft moan under his breath as she began to move her hand. Sakura broke away from him with a single, swift movement, leaving him panting desperately for air. He gasped even more deeply when he felt her tongue. Sakura sent ecstatic pulses through his entire being as she slowly guided the tip of her tongue along the length of his penis. He let out another desperate gasp of air as he felt her mouth surround him, before taking it in entirely. Her tongue gently caressed him with a twirling motion; pushing him even further to his limit.

"S-Sakura-chan…" He tried to speak, but his leg muscles twitched and tightened as he felt his climax. In the same instant, he felt her push down deeper, Sakura moaned softly, and Naruto felt every vibration in her throat as she took him in. She lifted her head from him slowly, feeling his pulse with every heartbeat. Heavily panting he added "Sakura-chan…I can't go on anymore."

Sakura lifted her head from him and met his exhausted gaze with a grin.

"I'll take care of it, Naruto." A strong green glow started to emit from her hand. He felt blood rush from his heart down to his pelvis; his eyes shut at the sensation. When he regained the strength to open his eyes, Sakura had already positioned herself above him.

As Sakura lowered herself onto him, they both let out gasps of pleasure. Sakura could feel him pulsating inside of her; Naruto felt warmth embrace every inch of him. She slow began to move with rhythm. His efforts to regain his breath became shallower with every new gasp. Gently, he brought his hands up to her hips, slowly caressing her thighs as they moved. Gradually, he began to encourage her, pulling her body towards his with increasing vigor. Sakura's speed increased even further; sensations of ecstasy took their bodies as they both felt the vibrations of climax.

Sakura's body lost balance and fell on top of Naruto's. He felt her breath on his ears as he listened to her heavy panting.

"A-ah! Naruto!" Sakura whispered into his ear as he felt blood rushing to his pelvis again.

_She can channel chakra using her entire body?_ He thought as his head forcefully sunk back into the mattress.

Sakura felt his penis harder within herself as her hips began to move again. Naruto's hands found themselves on her hips again, intensely following her motion. In a single instant, another climax came to both of them. Both let out gasps of desperation as Sakura brought her mouth down upon his once again. Vibrations echoed through their bodies as they both let out passionate moans of pleasure from their throats.

With their lips connected, Sakura fell to her side. Her emerald eyes still locked onto his.

"When did you regain your memory?" She asked him.

"It doesn't even matter, because I never forgot you, Sakura-chan."

They both shared another embrace before closing their eyes.

* * *

Thank you all for following Cherry Blossoms in the Wind this far, and even though the story has come full circle in my eyes, this isn't the end.

But for now, I'm out of ideas to be publishing as many chapters as I have been in the last month.

Once again, thank you for reading...And while I'm now going to work on my other episodic story, please know that I do still love NaruSaku.

But I want to give a go at NaruHina.

_Please don't hate me!__ Is it so wrong to like two parings? :)_


	14. Embrace of the Wind

Sakura's new Technique is revealed; I wanted to give her something else she could use in combat because from what I've seen in the anime, all she can really do is punch things really hard.

Remember what I said about not writing action sequences again?

Well, after writing Chapter 2 of "An Acknowledged Love"…I take it back!

Thanks for reading

**CHAPTER RATING: T**

* * *

**Episode 14: Embrace of the Wind**

Naruto awoke to the feeling of Sakura's silken hair on his bare chest; he glanced down and met Sakura's smile with his own. Sakura lowered her head and pushed it deeper into his chest. He wrapped his arm around her, feeling the fabric of his own jacket she wore, brought her closer, and held her for a long moment. A knock at the door interrupted their embrace.

"Who do you think that is?" Sakura asked.

"I don't plan to answer it." Naruto replied with a grin. "I wouldn't give this moment for anything." The knocking at the door grew louder.

"Naruto? Open up…You've been discharged, right? Well, Sakura's missing." It was Kakashi. Naruto sighed while getting up to his feet.

"I guess I'll go explain." Naruto said to Sakura in a low tone while quickly putting on a white shirt, rubbing his eyes, straightening his hair, and zipping up his pants. He took a deep breath and kept walking.

"I'm on my way!" Naruto shouted at the door. He turned the knob and cracked it open. "What is it, Kakashi-sensei?" he asked in a slightly annoyed tone. "I'm kind of busy."

"Naruto? Are you feeling well? I hear you were discharged early." Kakashi said

"Uh, Y-yeah, I feel great. Something helped speed my recovery..." Naruto replied

"Good. Now then, do you know where Sakura is? She didn't answer her door at home."

"Yeah, she was the person who accompanied me on my recovery. She's…" Naruto slightly jerked his head towards his house. "…Do you know what I mean?" Naruto asked. Kakashi lifted an eyebrow at the statement.

"Tell her that she's nearly completed her new technique; meet me on the training grounds when you find the time." Kakashi stated. He turned around and began to walk towards the stairway. "I'll be in touch. Take it easy."

"Y-yeah. I'll be sure to take it easy. Thanks, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto added as closed the door in front of him. He turned, and walked back towards his bedroom. Naruto entered the bedroom and was greety by an embrace and kiss from Sakura.

"What did he say? She asked him while slightly pulling away.

"He says that your own technique is almost finished; he you to meet him later at the training grounds. What did you manage to create?" he asked.

"I'll show it to you later, just come watch me at the training grounds later in the day." She said with a smile. "I think you'll really like it."

"I'm sure it's amazing." Naruto replied with a smile.

Sakura turned around to leave; she slowly began to take off Naruto's jacket. His arms gently wrapped around her as his hands gently grasped hers. She felt his head resting on her shoulders.

"Keep it." He whispered into her ear. She broght the jacket back together and zipped it up.

"I'll see you later, I have some things I need to do, too." He said while gently releasing his grip on her hands.

She smiled softly, brought her hand to his chin, turned his head, and kissed him.

"I'm looking forward to it."

…

Naruto walked into a long, winding hallway as he heard a loud bang as a door shut behind him. At the end of hallway was a single cell. He walked towards the cell and stared into it. The prisoner inside stood up and walked towards the cell bars.

"Are you here to see me again?" She said in a seductive tone. "Did you enjoy what I did to you?" Naruto's face held a look of determination.

"I am here to see you again, but I'm here to tell you that what you tried to do, failed." Naruto replied. Karin placed her arms between the cell bars and held them out. Naruto stood firm, not reaching out to hold her. She shot him an ugly look and snorted while pulling her arms back into the cell.

"Don't worry, Karin-chan; someone else will take care of you." Behind them, there came another sound of the door shutting. "Here is your personal escort." Behind Naruto, stood Sai.

"Hello, it's nice to meet you." Sai said with a smile. Naruto smiled at Karin.

"We picked him because there's no way that he'll fall for you." He glanced over at Sai. "Sai, what do you think of Karin? Oh, and you can be honest." Naruto asked.

"Why, she's just as ugly as every other woman Konoha." Sai answered with an even more sincere smile. Karin flinched at his statement, and rushed the bars, trying to claw at Sai's face. Sai opened a scroll and painted a few snakes, moments later, they came to life, tying up Karin's hands.

"What the?! Let me go!" Karin demanded.

"Sai, you might want to do something about her mouth, too. She can really do some damage with that thing…She can-"

"She can talk for hours without stopping?" Sai interrupted.

"Ah-I wasn't going to say that. If she bites you, she can take your chakra, so…"

"YOU'RE NOT DOING ANY-" Sai took his scroll and drew another picture. A star shape jumped from the page and smacked itself against her lips.

"Sai, what's that?" Naruto asked.

"It's called a 'Starfish'…I read about it in this book." He said as he held a book called _Creatures from Under the Sea_.

A guard opened the cell door and took hold of Karin's arm. She offered Naruto a depressed expression, but he waved a hand and passed it off.

"Can you handle this, Sai?" Naruto asked.

"I've got in under control. Take care of yourself, Naruto." Sai replied.

Sai struck Karin's neck with a chop, she fell over in a daze; he bent over and caught her with his shoulder.

…

Naruto stood quietly outside of the Hyuuga residence, leaned up against the wall, with his head tilted down.

_What should I say to her?_

He took a deep sigh.

_I guess I'll just improvise._

He turned, brought his hand forward, and knocked on the door. A few moments later, the door cracked open and Neji greeted him with a a scornful expression.

"Naruto, what do you want?" he angrily asked.

"H-Hey, Neji. Is Hinata home? I need to talk to her." Naruto replied.

"About what?"

"Well…about something private." Neji shot another look at Naruto that sent chills of regret down his spine.

"Come in, sit down, I'll get her." Neji reluctantly said.

Naruto did as he was instructed. He sat down and held his head in his hands.

_Relax, this can't be too hard. Just say what you need to say._ He heard the door slide open and caught a glimpse of Hinata, who silently walked up to him and took a seat directly in front of him.

"What is it you needed to talk about, Naruto-kun?" She quietly asked. Naruto nervously placed his hand on his neck while simultaneously diverting his eyes.

"Well, Hinata…if you remember that night. I just wanted to say I'm really sorry for what happened…and I want to tell you that I meant what I said. You are the only person who stood up for me when Pain attacked. You are one of the strongest Kunoichi that I know."

Hinata slightly tilted her head down.

Naruto planted his face onto the floor as he bowed.

"I'm so sorry for what I did! Please forgive me!" he shouted.

Hinata's hands grabbed his head and brought him up. She held him tightly and looked into his eyes while pulling him closer and tightly hugging him. With a smile on her face, she whispered into his ear.

"It's okay, Naruto-kun. I forgive you. Please, don't worry yourself over this issue anymore." He wrapped his hands around her and returned the embrace.

"Thank you, Hinata. Thank you so much...For everything." With that said, Naruto stood and smiled at Hinata, she replied with another friendly smile. He felt a rush of relief as he turned and exited the house.

…

Navigating his way through the forest, Naruto came across the familiar sound of a rushing waterfall clashing with the ground. He weaved through the forest and came across an opening.

The opening seemed to be larger than when he was training.

There were many more lone tree trunks than he remembered too.

As he took in a breath, he felt his lungs fill with dust, and them he felt a massive amount of brown dust rush to his face. He rubbed his eyes and opened them to see Sakura, still wearing his jacket, with her fist extended, and a bare tree trunk sitting in front of her.

Kakashi stood a few feet away from her, reading his copy of _Make-out Tactics_ which seemingly contained tens of thousands of pages. Even further still, sat Yamato, with an expression of exhaustion on his face.

Yamato brought another had forward, and the tree regrew before Naruto's very eyes. She reared her fist back, and struck the tree once again. Instantly, the tree was pulverized into a fine dust and carried away with the breeze.

Naruto's jaw dropped.

_If she can do that with a tree…What if she hits me with that?_

His mind was flooded with images of himself being struck by her fist, and exploding in a giant, bloody mess. He cringed at the images; regaining his composure, he began to walk towards their position. Kakashi caught sight of him while he was approaching.

"Alright, Yamato, take a break." He said. Yamato fell backwards and nearly caused a fissure in the ground as he fell backwards. Sakura rushed towards Naruto with great enthusiasm.

"Naruto! Did you see that?!" she shouted.

"Y-yeah. It's pretty awesome." Naruto replied, both scared and impressed. "Please tell me that you won't ever hit me with it." He added with a smile. Kakashi nodded at them both.

"Well, since you're both here, why don't we have a little sparring session? Yamato there seems to be knocked out, so I'll take him back to the village. Naruto, you can stay here and learn about Sakura's new techniques that she's acquired."

"Sakura-chan, you created two techniques?" Naruto curiously asked.

"Yep! So, how about it? Want to train a little?" Sakura asked

"Sure." He replied

"Good then it's settled. Remember that this is just a training session, take care of each other." Kakashi stated as he walked over to Yamato and picked him up with his shoulder. Within minutes, he bagan to walk back into the forest, and was soon out of sight.

They slowly backed away from each other, creating a good amount of space in front of them.

"Alright, here I come, Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted as he rushed her position. "_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"_ he shouted as a shadow clone appeared at his side. The shadow clone moved to her right, as Naruto went left. Sakura quickly enter a ready position and swung her left leg in a wide arch, catching the shadow clone with a serious impact to his ribs, and sent him flying. Amazed that the shadow clone had not disappeared from the impact, Naruto hesitated.

Sakura's momentum carried her right fist over to his cheek, the back of her hand crashed into his face, bringing him to a quick and harsh crash landing. He rolled away with a greater speed.

Sakura leaped a great height and her fist came crashing down against the ground, causing a massive shockwave that pushed Naruto even farther. Naruto looked at his shadow clone.

"You're bleeding?" he asked as the clone coughed up blood. "Why haven't you disappeared yet?"

"I don't know. She can hit hard enough to cause pain, but not make us disappear?" Naruto placed a hand on the shadow clone's shoulder.

"I'll deal with this, I'm sorry for causing you pain." Naruto apologetically stated.

"Hey, that's why I'm here. Thanks." The shadow clone replied as Naruto lifted his hand.

"Release!" he shouted as the shadow clone disappeared. A pain then shot through his ribs. He took another deep breath as blood began to trickle down his lower lip.

"Naruto?! Are you okay?!" Sakura shouted in a worried tone. Instead of answering, Naruto stood and began to charge at her. Sakura's eyes narrowed and focused on his lower lip, noticing the blood flowing down his chin.

Before she had time to ask about his well being again, he had already closed the distance and began attacking. Sakura's calmness overcame his aggression.

Her hands were parrying his with every blow. Naruto then firmly planted his left foot into the ground, and with a swinging kick, delivered a similar strike to her lower back.

Sakura was sent flying at the impact. But as she soared through the air, he noticed a green glow surrounding her. She impacted the ground with multiple crashes, but with no dust to show her impact, and almost no sound to accompany her falls. Naruto's ribs ached and he brought his right arm across them.

Sakura stood up again and regained her footing. Naruto was amazed to see that she didn't have a single scratch on her. Quickly, Sakura began to form seals with her hands. She pushed her hand forward, palm facing Naruto, and clenched her hand into a fist.

Naruto gave her a confused look, his look of confusion turned into a horrified look of worry as he felt a wind pushing him from behind. The wind was so strong, and he was being lifted off of the ground; it felt as if he was just picked up and suddenly hurled at Sakura. Traveling at a great velocity, he panicked as he came closer.

Sakura reared her fist back, Naruto closed his eyes in fear of what was about to transpire. Then he felt a soft pressure on his chest as he realized that Sakura had caught him with her arm. She took hold of his head and slowly lower him to his back. She placed a glowing left hand on his ribs.

"You should have told me you were hurt." Sakura stated as she moved closer to him. Stunned, he stood in awe. Her eyes shined like those fireflies in contrast to the orange hue of the sky, her hand came to his chin and wiped away the scarlet liquid that dripped down. "I would have stopped right away." She whispered while moving closer to him.

He felt her lips on his as his eyes closed. The pain in his ribs was leaving his body. Naruto smiled as she lifted her lips from his.

"As long as you're here, Sakura-chan…I know that I'll be fine."

Kakashi watched from the forest as the sun was setting. He saw Sakura bring Naruto up and hug him.

"I guess…I shouldn't treat them like kids anymore." He muttered to himself as he opened his endless novel and began reading again.

* * *

With two major stories floating in my head, I'll update on Saturdays and Sundays.


	15. Mixed Messages

This may be the "cleanest" M chapter that I've ever written

**CHAPTER RATING: M**

* * *

**Episode 15: Mixed Messages**

Naruto rested on Sakura's shoulder as she walked him to her house; his right arm holding his ribs tightly. It seemed to Sakura that he was swaying with every step; every step that Naruto took seemed to be followed by a limp and flinch of pain.

"Naruto, are you alright?" Sakura asked him.

"Y-yeah" he flinched. "It's just that the pain is still present. It hurts, but it doesn't hurt that much." He replied with a smile.

"My house is closer than yours, so I'll bring you there, you can rest in my room until you're feeling better."

"That sounds like a good idea."

When they arrived at her house, Naruto rested his shoulder on the wall while Sakura opened the door. He extended his arm again and rested it on her shoulders as she lead him into the house.

She gently led him to her room and laid him down on her bed. His face held an expression of pain as his body straightened. He took a deep breath and smiled at her as he exhaled.

"Stay still, I'll be back with bandages and medicine." She instructed. He nodded as she stood up and exited the room. Sakura scoured her cabinets for the medicinal painkillers and bandages, but could find nothing.

"Naruto, I need to go out for a bit, I'll be back soon with some medication and bandages. Don't go anywhere." She commanded. His response was an gentle nod. As if he was going anywhere.

"W-wait, Sakura-chan." He sternly said.

"What is it, Naruto?"

He extended his hand; she took it with a gentle grip.

"Sakura-chan…Do you trust me?" Sakura's heart momentarily froze; struck with surprise, she replied.

"Naruto…" she rested her hand on his cheek. "You've always been with me, and I will always trust you. No matter what happens."

He closed his eyes and listened to Sakura's footsteps as she walked out of the house. He began to drift into sleep from the pain that he felt in his side. His deep breaths were slowly easing the pain, little by little.

Sakura stepped out of the door, still wearing his jacket that he had given to her earlier in the day. She'd have to go directly to Tsunade, not only for the medicine, but to discuss matters that concerned herself, and Naruto.

…

Minutes later, Sakura was heading up that stairs to the Hokage's office, in her hands, she held a plastic bag. She knocked on the door and slowly opened it, slowly entering the room to be sure that her presence was known. She looked into the room and saw the familiar sight of her master, Tsunade as well as Shizune.

"Sakura, what is it?" Tsunade asked.

"Master, I don't think that we should go on with the plan?" Sakura asked.

"Why not?" Tsunade asked with her arms crossed.

"Because, he's already proved to me that he's loyal, twice." Sakura answered back.

"Surely, one more test isn't too much of a challenge for him?" Shizune added.

"I don't doubt him at all, but today, we had an accident during training. His ribs are broken. That's why I have this." Sakura held up the plastic bag. "I don't think he'll make it through this one."

"You broke his ribs?" Tsunade asked. "Why did you hit him so hard?"

"I didn't hit him, I kicked his shadow clone, but the effect seems to have transferred to him."

"I did not expect this." Tsunade answered back. "But it's already too late. The operation has started. Now we'll just have to see how he handles it."

"But, how can you even think of doing something like this!" Sakura protested. "The person who will administer this 'test' is-"

"ENOUGH!" Tsunade interrupted. "Sakura, these are my orders as Hokage, even she cannot refuse these orders." She stood from her chair and looked at her talented disciple. "Do you understand?!"

"B-but, she's…she's my…" Sakura looked down while turning away.

"…Yes, I understand."

…

Naruto awoke to the slam of the front door as he groggily tried to pull himself up into a seated position. He was able to bring himself to his elbows while looking at the doorway.

He waited for a voice to call out to him.

_Sakura-chan would tell me if she came back…Who is this person who's entered the house?_

His mind wandered for a minute until her realized something that he had forgotten.

Sakura had parents.

_Oh no. What am I supposed to do? Do they even know that we're together?_

Even more worryingly, did they know that he had "stayed" there before?

An idea popped into his head as he worried about being discovered.

"Transformation!" a cloud of smoke engulfed him; he visually disappeared, and in his place was a stuffed bear. He heard footsteps approaching as he tried his best to hold the form, but the pain and exhaustion began to rip away at his side.

_Focus…! Stay calm, just relax!_ He said this to himself, but at the same time…How was he going to get out of this situation? He lay in Sakura's bed, motionless, trying his best to keep composed.

A woman with blonde hair walked into view.

_Damn it! It's her mom! What the hell am I supposed to do?!_

Sakura's mother turned left and walked away. Naruto let out a deep sigh, but quickly drew his breath back into his lungs as her head came back into view. She walked closer to him, causing his heart rate to rise even more.

"Hmm…I don't remember Sakura having a bear like this." She said aloud.

_Not good! Not good at all!_ He panicked.

She bent over him, staring at his apparent appearance. She brought her hand and rested it on the bear…Which just so happened to be the same area where Naruto had injured his ribs. He felt a pressure against his ribs that shot pain throughout his body.

_It's no good. I can't maintain it anymore…_

A puff a smoke materialized and Naruto was now in place of the stuffed bear. His only reaction to this turn of events was to awkwardly smile while trying to ignore the immense pain that hovered over his body.

"Umm….I can explain…" he stuttered. He fumbled with his words until she interrupted him.

"Uzumaki Naruto." She stated.

"Y-yes, Sakura-chan's mother." He replied.

"What are you doing here?"

"W-well, you see, I was training with Sakura-chan, when she hit one of my shadow clones and the pain transferred to me."

His words came out faster than he could process them in his mind.

"She brought me here, but there weren't any bandages or medicine, so she had to go get some, and so she left me here to rest until she came back."

"Call me Mebuki." She ordered.

"Uh…O-Okay, M-Mebuki-san." He said awkwardly as he flinched in pain.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" Mebuki asked.

"Well, if you could help ease the pain, then it would help."

"I'll try my best, we'll need to take a look under that shirt to see if there's been any real damage."

"Y-yeah." Naruto replied with a red face. He grasped his shirt and tried his best to lift it over his head. But the pain was too much, and his arms fell to his sides. "…I can't take it off."

Mebuki reached into her back pocket and pulled out a kunai.

"We'll just cut it off then." She brought the edge close to his throat as he closed his eyes. He heard the fabric split in half, and then heard the fabric ripping down his body.

He looked down to find that his entire side was a dark scarlet. She gently placed her hand on it, he responded by suddenly flinching away in pain. Mebuki looked up at his face; a stream of blood began to run from his mouth down to his chin.

Mebuki brought her hand to his face and wiped away the blood. She smiled at him as his eyes were wide in shock and confusion.

"T-Thank you…?" They sat in an awkward silence for what seemed like hours.

"Naruto-san…Do you love my daughter?"

"…uh…Y-Yes, Yes I do. I love her very much…More than anyone ever." She didn't answer back, instead, she brought a glowing green hand to his side. He flinched as he felt the healing process within his ribs.

"This will stop the internal bleeding, don't make any sudden movements. You won't heal properly until we bandage you up."

Naruto nodded. Her hand hovered over his injury, slowly healing him as best as she could.

"Naruto-san...Have you ever been unfaithful to my daughter?" she asked. Surprised, he decided to keep the events with Hinata and Karin to himself…even if it was a shadow clone.

"N-No. I would never imagine of doing anything like that. Never." He answered back.

"You have never…EVER been unfaithful? You do realize that being faithful will break a woman's heart, right?"

Naruto nodded.

"You wouldn't break my daughter's heart, right?"

Naruto shook his head.

"Good."

She moved closer to him. He brought his hand to her shoulder and pushed her back slightly.

"Whoa, wait. What are you doing?" He asked her.

"I'm testing your faithfulness."

"What?!" He pushed her back farther. "I don't know what's going on, but I've got to-"

She pushed down on his ribs, causing pain to interrupt his thoughts. Before he had realized it, she pushed herself up against him; an intense heat pushed against his bare chest through her tight dress. Their lips connected and he could feel her tongue in his mouth, twisting and moving against his.

His heart was racing as he felt her body against his; the pain still surged through his body. He pushed her away and scrambled to his feet. He didn't say anything; he just stared at her with disbelief in his eyes. He breathed heavily, grasped his ribs and coughed into his hand.

Blood.

A lot of blood.

He turned and saw the doorknob rotate. A thought flashed through his mind.

_No matter who is behind this door, this will be bad._

The door opened and he saw Sakura with a plastic bag.

"Naruto?! What are you-"

Pain shot through his legs and he lost his footing, falling forward. Sakura caught him with her arms and let him down onto the floor. Her eyes showed concern as he began to cough up blood.

"I-I'm sorry Sakura-chan. I tried my best. But I don't even know what happened…"

"Hang on, Naruto. We'll get you to the hospital right away!"

Naruto's eyes closed, and his world went black.

…

When Naruto came to, he was in a hospital bed, groggy and exhausted.

"Naruto! You're awake!" Sakura jumped and hugged him.

"Y-yeah, I'm awake…Doesn't this seem familiar?" he said with a smile. She kissed him, broke away, and smiled back.

"Naruto, did anything happen while you were at my house, waiting for me? Why did you run out of the house?"

He thought for a second.

"I-I don't remember why." He lied.

She smiled and began to walk away.

"Wait! S-Sakura-chan…Do you still trust me?" Naruto asked.

"I've already told you, Naruto. I will always trust you." She replied.

He rested his head back on his pillow.

"How long do you think I will have to be here?"

"With broken ribs, we'll have to wait and see." She said with a smile.

As Sakura stepped out of the room, Tsunade was waiting for her by the door.

"How did it go?" She asked Sakura. Sakura looked at her master with eyes filled with determination.

"Do you see him in that room? Did you see the pain that he had to go through? I trust him more than anyone else, and I won't be doing anymore of these 'tests' of yours, even if you are my master AND the Hokage."

Tsunade returned Sakura's stare with a look of surprise.

"You're right. I understand. No more of this nonsense will be conducted in the future." Tsunade turned and walked down the hallway.

Sakura walked back into the room, closed the door and locked it.

"S-Sakura-chan? What are you doing?"

"…I'm here to keep you company."

* * *

Man, writing two stories is hard, I'm starting to get these events mixed up.

I just want to say that I really do appreciate people reading what I'm writing.

But please remember that even though I enjoy writing these, this isn't paying the bills.

So, as much as I want to say that I will be updating every weekend, I probably won't be able to do so for EVERY WEEK.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you look forward to chapter 16


	16. Recovery

It's another story arc!

**CHAPTER RATING: T**

* * *

**Episode 16: Royal Consort, Part I: Recovery**

"You're here to keep me company…? What does that me-"

"What do you think it means?" Sakura interrupted with a smile. She moved over to his side and stood next to him. "I'm here to make sure that nothing bad happens to you during your hospitalization." She grabbed his hand and squeezed it gently. "I'm here to make sure that you make a full recovery. You didn't think it was anything else did you?"

"Uhh…No, not at all. Thank you, Sakura-chan. I knew that I would aleays be alright as long as you are with me." He leaned back and let his head sink into the pillow.

"I've even got something that may help with your recovery." She said while walking over to a cabinet, rummaging through some cabinets, she soon emerged with a jar filled with capsules, labeled "_Sakura's Recovery Remedy"_

"This!" she shouted with enthusiasm. "This is a special remedy that I created to help others. You'll be the first to try it!" she added with a smile.

Naruto's blood ran cold. He took a deep gulp as he sank deeper into the pillow, as if he could get away from Sakura and her magical remedy.

"N-No thanks, Sakura-chan…Really, I think I can make the recovery myself…The nine-tails does help with healing, so don't worry." He abruptly added.

_Sakura-chan's Soldier Pills were terrible. If she gives me these, I'll die for sure!_

"You'll recover even faster if you just take the capsule, Naruto. Don't worry, it's all-natural, I specifically used only herbs to make this medicine." She said while moving closer to him with a capsule in her hand.

_That's what she said last time too_

"S-Sakura-chan, I really don't think that's necessary." Sakura gently pushed against his injured ribs, causing his mouth to widely crack open in a shriek of pain. She quickly dropped the pill in his mouth and slammed his jaw shut until she heard him gulp down the capsule.

"That wasn't that bad, was it?" Sakura bluntly asked.

"N-No." he replied while grabbing at his throat and coughing. He paused.

_That wasn't bad at all. It tasted like…Nothing._

"No, it wasn't bad at all." Naruto finished.

"…Are you feeling anything strange yet?" Sakura asked him.

"Well, the pain is slowly fading away. I think it'll be a quick recovery." She took a seat next to his bed.

"I'll be here to make sure that you're safe. Good Night, Naruto."

"Good Night, Sakura-chan."

…

Minutes later, Naruto had fallen into a deep sleep, Sakura sat by his side, listening to the steady beat of the heart monitor. Her mind began to wander about the events that preceded his hospitalization.

_Why was he rushing out of the house? _

_I know that my mother was ordered to test him, but how did she do it…?_

A soft knock came at the door. Sakura's head flinched at the sound. Her thought process stopped as she stood up and began to walk towards the door.

She slowly opened the door and peeked into the hallway. The person she saw was her mother.

"Sakura, I need to talk to you." She whispered. Sakura's head dipped back into the room, glancing at Naruto. Everything seemed okay, she nodded and stepped out of the room, quietly closing the door behind her.

"What is it Mom?" Sakura asked while leaning against the door.

"How is he?" Mebuki asked

"He's doing fine. What else do you want?" Sakura said with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

There was a long pause between the two of them.

"Sakura, I know what you're thinking. But try to understand that those were orders from the Hoka-"

"I don't care if they were orders from the Hokage!" Sakura interrupted. "Whatever you did to him is wrong! And you know it! How could you do this to me?!"

"Sakura, I'm sorry for what I did, but please try to understand that I didn't do anything…too drastic." Mebuki explained.

"Then what did you do?" Sakura asked.

"I didn't do much; all I did was kiss him."

"You kissed him…?" Sakura asked in a desperate tone.

"Sakura, look at the bright side, he didn't accept my advances…In fact, he rushed out of the house when I kissed him; he's still faithful to you…Can't you see that?"

There was another long pause between the two.

"I understand." Sakura nodded. "Just promise me that you'll never do anything like that again-even if you're ordered to."

Mebuki extended her arms, Sakura moved to hug her mother.

"I promise, I won't do anything like that again." Mebuki stated.

"Thank you…Good night, Mom." She tightened her embrace.

"Good night, Sakura."

Sakura walked back into the room, closed the door and sat down on the sofa next to Naruto's hospital bed.

…

Naruto awoke to a morning silence, occasionally broken by his heartbeat. He looked around while clearing his vision to see that he was alone in his hospital room. His jacket was draped over his still shirtless torso. The pain that ripped through his side was now just a nagging stiffness. He pulled himself up into a sitting position, but found that he could not even slightly bend over.

He stiffened when he heard the door open. Sakura's mother stepped through into the room. Immediately, his blood froze over.

"M-Mebuki-san? W-What do you want?!" he desperately asked. She approached his bedside. "L-Look, you saw my answer last night! I don't know what was wrong with you, but I told you that I love Sakura-chan. So, please, just leave me alone."

"Naruto-san, I have something to tell you. Please calm down." She said in a low tone.

He took a deep breath.

"Okay, what is it?"

"Everything that happened last night, I need to tell you that it wasn't sincere." He exhaled in relief.

"Why did you do it, then?"

"I was assigned by the Hokage to test you."

He took a deep breath.

"I'm really sorry, Naruto."

"Don't be, let's just pretend that it never happened. Thank you." She smiled at his thanks.

"Maybe one day, I'll be able to call you my son-in-law."

"…Maybe." He said with a nervous smile. She bowed to him and stepped out of the room.

He leaned his head into the soft pillow and closed his eyes.

_Son-in-law…?_

…

Minutes after Mebuki exited the room, Sakura entered.

"Naruto? How are you feeling today?" she asked.

"Much better…I just can't seem to bend over. But besides that, I think that I'm fine to leave."

"Great! I was just at the front desk, and you're cleared for discharge today." She walked over to him and detached all cords and wires used to monitor his physical condition.

"Hey, Sakura-chan?" he asked nervously.

"Yes?"

"Well, your mom said..." he hesitated.

"What did my mom say?" she interrupted.

"N-nothing…Never mind."

Sakura gave him a blank stare, and then smiled.

She took his arm upon her shoulders again and helped him over to a pair of crutches. He promptly took them under his arms and began to walk along side her until they exited the hospital.

"What do you want to do, since you've been discharged?" Sakura asked. "Do you want to go out and eat?"

"No…I'd rather just spend some alone time with…I really just want to go home." He said in a low tone. "That's all."

"I'll take you home."

They walked home, side by side.

…

When they entered the house, Sakura brought Naruto to his bed and sat him down.

"Lie down and relax. I'll get you something to eat."

"Thank you." Sakura stood up and walked towards the kitchen.

_Sakura-chan's mother suggested that I'd be her son-in-law_

His mind raced with the thoughts.

_Marriage…? That's a large step…_

_Am I ready for this? _

_Is she ready for this? _

_What am I supposed to do with this information?_

…_I just don't know…What…What am I suppose to do?_

_If only I had someone to ask these questions._

He took a deep breath.

_When should I tell her…?_

Sakura reentered the room, stopping his thoughts in their tracks. She sat next to him and placed her hand on his side.

"How does it feel?" she asked him.

"Better, but stiff." He answered. She chuckled at his answer, and whispered into his ear.

"There's another way I can speed up your recovery, Naruto…It'll take the pain away."

"What's that?" He feigned ignorance.

She placed her hand on his chest and turned to kiss him.

* * *

15,000+ Views, 36 Favorites, and 46 Follows.

Thank you! I love you guys...and girls. :)


	17. Couples

**CHAPTER RATING: M**

* * *

**Episode 17: Royal Consort, Part II: Couples**

Sakura pushed her body against Naruto's when he felt her lips meet his. She slid her hands into his jacket, moved her arms around his body, and slowly began to take off his jacket. His arms relaxed, letting his jacket fall down onto his bed. Sakura brought her hands to his hair, entangling them in it while letting him down.

Naruto slowly laid his head down, feeling Sakura's body press up against his. She separated his lips and looked into his eyes.

"Are you still in pain?" she asked. He didn't respond, only managing to shake his head; she unzipped her own shirt and let it fall to the floor. She kissed him again, wrapping her tongue around his. Her pants slid down her legs while she pulled down his zipper; with their lips still connected she moved and straddled him.

She gently pushed her body against his, continually rubbing herself against him, the sensation she felt sent chills up her spine; he could feel his erection growing with her every movement. Sakura gently pulled aside her black panties.

They both took in a deep breath as she lowered herself and took him in. Sakura softly moaned in pleasure as she continued to move against him. She gave in to the tingling in her body and fell on top of him.

The heat of her body aroused him. She continued to move at a faster pace. She wrapped her arms around his neck and tightly embraced him. He could feel her breath on his ear as she held him tightly.

He returned her embrace by wrapping his arms around her body, and pulling her closer as she continued to move her hips. His body shook with every movement she made, every moment she rubbed against him caused shockwaves through her body.

The both let out great gasps for air as they both came to a climax. Sakura collapsed on top of Naruto and rested her head on his bare chest. In deep gasps she asked him:

"Do you feel any better?"

"I feel much better."

…

"Do you understand your mission then?" Tsunade asked aloud. Sakura nodded her understanding; she looked over at Naruto, who was blankly staring into thin air.

"Naruto!" she snapped her fingers in front of his face.

No response.

"Naruto!" she shouted again while pushing him slightly.

"Oh, what? Sorry. I was kind of…thinking." He replied. "What was it again?" Tsunade shot him a look of annoyance.

"I'll explain it to him while we head out, don't worry, Master." Sakura said while she face-palmed.

"Good! On your way then!" Tsunade ordered. Sakura turned to Naruto, grabbed his hand, and led him out of the office. She tightly squeezed his hand, trying to bring him back to reality.

"Naruto!" she shouted again. He shook his head and tried to refocus his thoughts.

"Y-yes, what is it, Sakura-chan?"

"Is something wrong?"

"No, it's nothing…What's our mission again?"

Sakura took a deep breath. "We're going to be guards during a marriage ceremony for the son of the Daimyo."

Naruto nodded. "Marriage ceremony…?"

"Yes, his very one marriage ceremony, we're there to make sure nothing happens to him."

"Nothing happens to him? Like what? What could possibly happen to a faceless prince that nobody has ever seen?" he replied cynically.

"Well…He is the PRINCE of the country, so maybe someone would kidnap him, or try to assassinate him or something like that."

He nodded.

"Why did he ask for us to guard him, being a prince, you'd think that he'd be surrounded by palace guards or something like that."

"Yeah, But I guess they wanted a special team of shinobi, right?" she smiled at Naruto.

"Yeah-I guess so." He replied with a kind smile.

"After all, who is the one person who saved Konoha?"

He smiled and nodded.

…

Minutes after, the two met Shikamaru and Ino at Konoha's main gate. Ino ran towards Sakura and hugged her.

Naruto stepped up and shook Shikamaru's hand.

"Shikamaru? Ino? What are you two doing here? I thought it'd be Sai and Yamato-taichou." Sakura asked.

"We're going to be the ones who go on this mission with you, it was decided that we'd have the best abilities in this sort of mission." Shikamaru answered.

"Just like the old days, right, Shikamaru?" Naruto asked with a grin.

"Just like the old days." Shikamaru answered back with a smirk. "Alright, are you all ready? We're set to leave."

They all cheered and set out towards the royal palace.

Sometime later, while traversing a lone dirt road in the forests on the outskirts of Konoha, Shikamaru hung back with Naruto while Sakura and Ino lead the way.

"They decided that we should team together?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, the idea is, if anyone tried to pull anything, Ino and I can use our abilities to stop something that may happen."

Naruto nodded in understanding. They walked for a few more minutes, Sakura and Ino were conversing while Naruto and Shikamaru were both gazing at the clouds as they passed by.

"Women sure are troublesome aren't they?" Shikamaru abruptly asked.

both of them stopped in their tracks. "What do you mean?"

Shikamaru stopped and shifted his eyes towards the two Kunoichi in front of them that were still proceeding down the dirt road.

"Sakura hasn't given you any trouble yet?" Shikamaru questioned.

"What kind of trouble…? Wait…wait…You and Ino are…?"

"Yep. Suggested by her father." He shrugged.

"Does that mean that you don't love her?"

"I didn't say that." Shikamaru replied. "But even my old man knows how much trouble my mother is." He said somewhat depressively.

"Yeah, I guess so. But no, she's never given me any 'trouble' she's actually saved me multiple times." Naruto began. "In fact, she healed my broken ribs."

"You had broken ribs? Are you sure that you can handle a mission so soon?"

"Yeah, I'm feeling great thanks to her, I know I can do this."

"I guess even the savior of Konoha needs a savior, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

…

_At the same time…_

"How have you been, Sakura? Anything interesting happen since I last saw you?" Ino asked.

"Well, a few things happened." Sakura answered back.

"Like what?"

"Well, for one, Naruto lost his memory once, but I helped him retain it…I broke his ribs, but they've healed too."

"You brought back his memory, and healed his ribs? No wonder Tsunade-sama took you in as her disciple!" Ino exclaimed.

"Y-yeah, did anything happen for you?" Sakura asked.

"Well…" Ino leaned in closer. "My father suggested that I go out with Shikamaru."

"You did?"

"I did."

"Do you…love him?"

"…I do." Ino answered with a smile.

"…Did you…use _that _technique yet?"

Ino nodded.

They both laughed.

…

"Two rooms, please." Shikamaru said while sliding money across a counter. The attendant brought two and handed them to Shikamaru.

"Enjoy your stay." She stated

"Thank you." He replied.

The team of four had entered a small inn on the side of the road, with a good amount of distance still between them until they reached the royal palace.

They met in the room that Ino and Shikamaru would stay in and once again, went over the basics of the mission.

"Here's how it will happen: during these marriage ceremonies, the prince will be given the option to pick a bride that he wants to wed." In unison, Ino, Sakura, and Naruto flinched at the news. "I know it sounds odd, but these are the customs of the Land of Fire. We don't have any say in the actually ceremony. So we're not going to make this a big deal."

"Y-yeah, but!...But!"

"Naruto, I understand how you feel, but our mission is to protect the prince, not to pass judgment upon the customs that the royal family follows. Remember that."

Naruto bit his lip and nodded.

"Okay, remember, we're there to protect him, and after the ceremony we'll come back home. Easy."

They all nodded.

"That's all, get some rest, we're heading out again tomorrow."

…

Sakura and Naruto sat in their room looking out of the open air window.

"What do you think about the prince being able to pick which girl he marries?" Sakura asked.

Naruto took a deep breath.

"I don't like it."

Sakura nodded in agreement.

He turned to her and saw the moon's reflection in her emerald eyes.

"When I become Hokage, I'll change it."

"I know you will."

* * *

Two stories on the same day, won't be submitting anything on Sunday, I think I'll take a break for a week also.

Thanks for reading!


	18. Marriage Ceremony

The "Choose Your Own Adventure" transition seems to be well received.

**NS Yes**: 52 Votes

**NS No:** 3 Votes

Thanks for sending in the emails! I know I said I was going to take a break, but this new turn of events has me too excited to not write.

**CHAPTER RATING: T**

* * *

**Episode 18: Royal Consort, Part III: Marriage Ceremony**

Naruto tossed and turned in his sleep. Sakura could hear the sheets shift and the bed frame creak with his every move. She knew that something was wrong. But the one thing she couldn't do was read his mind and experience his dreams for herself.

But there was one person who could do it: Ino. Sakura stood from her bed and exited the room with haste. Naruto could awaken at any moment, and the chance to figure out what was haunting him so much, would be lost.

She slowly opened the door to Shikamaru and Ino's room.

"What is it?" Shikamaru's voice echoed from the room. "What's wrong?"

"I was wondering if Ino could take a look into Naruto's mind. He isn't sleeping well."

Shikamaru sat still for a moment, shrugged, turned around, and gently shook Ino's arm.

"Ino, wake up." She opened her eyes at her urging.

"What is it, Shikamaru?" She asked in a slightly annoyed voice.

"Sakura needs your help with something. Let's go."

Ino yawned and stood up. She wrapped herself in a white robe, and walked towards the door.

"Explain to me on the way there."

They entered Naruto's room to find him still tossing and turning in bed.

"Okay, Shikamaru, Go." Ino whispered.

Shikamaru clasped his hands together.

_Kagemane no Jutsu_(**Shadow Imitation Technique**) His shadow shot out in a spike, merging with Naruto's.

"Shadow Possession, success." He whispered. Naruto stopped moving, and laid flat on his back. Ino stood next to him, she grasped his head, placing her fingers on his temples, and bent over, placing her forehead onto his.

_Naruto was experiencing a dream that was cloaked in a light veil of black and grey. Ino focused her eyes slightly and saw Naruto standing in front of her, staring blankly at a figure that stood in front of both of them._

_The image was almost fully formed, but the visuals that assaulted his mind were incomplete, dreams never seemed to be a stream of continuous thought, more like stitching together pieces of ripped cloth. She focused in, and began to hear a voice._

"_I…wi-…tak-….every-….fro-….you…"_

"_I…wi-…destr-…every…yo-…hold…dear"_

"_Every…on-….love…wil-….die."_

_Ino was assaulted by a feeling of sheer terror, the fear rushed through her body, leaving her motionless. In his mind, she was being pulled into a vortex stained in a dark violet. She was being pulled into a dark hole that formed in Naruto's mind._

_Thinking fast, she formed a seal with her hands._

"_Release!"_

Ino's consciousness rushed back into her own mind. She was forced back and fell over onto the ground.

"Ino!" Sakura whispered when she saw her best friend fall to the floor. "What happened?" Ino sat on the floor; taking in deep breaths to calm down her nerves.

In the calmest tone of voice she could manage, she explained the dream to Sakura and Shikamaru. They were both shocked by both the dream itself as to why the dream was occurring.

"We don't know. But let's try not to worry too much, we still have a mission to finish. For now, Sakura, get some sleep. A nightmare isn't going to kill him." Shikamaru ordered. Ino and Shikamaru left for their room. Sakura walked over and placed her hand on Naruto's arm.

"its okay, Naruto. I promise I won't let anything happen to you."

…

The next morning, Naruto opened his eyes as the sun's rays hit his face. He blinked a few times to clear his vision, then took his right arm and rubbed his eyes.

_That was one crazy dream._

He sat up and scanned the room, but found no sign of anyone. Sakura's bed was made, the entire room seemed as if it was just cleaned. Then, he heard a knock on the door.

"Come in." He said. The door opened and Sakura stepped throught the dorrway. She was dressed in a red robe, and held in her hand some other articles of clothing.

""Hey, Naruto, are you up? We're taking off to the Prince's marriage ceremony today."

"Sakura-chan?...Why aren't you in your usual clothing?" He asked.

Shikamaru's voice came from behind her.

"Because, we're here to protect the Prince, but it's also a secret mission, so even he doesn't know we're there." He explained.

"That's right, so you'll need to pack up your clothes and change into these." She handed him the black robe from her hand.

"Of course, that means that we also can't wear our headbands or anything that signifies us as Shinobi from Konoha." Shikamaru held up a bad that clinked when he moved it. "Drop yours in here, I'll keep 'em safe."

"Get dressed as soon as you can." Shikamaru ordered. "We leave in an hour."

…

The team walked further down the road until tey saw a large feudal castle looming in the distance.

"That has to be it. Let's get going, the sooner we get there, the better. Shikamaru noted.

The palace began to duck behind the large hills that they walked through; from the same direction, they could hear music and people.

"A festival?" Naruto asked while glancing over at Shikamaru.

"Well, what did you expect? The Prince of the country is going to get married, if the entire country isn't excited for him, at least the populace that live in the royal city would be able to celebrate." Shikamaru replied. "But since we're here, let's relax until the actual ceremony starts."

Naruto, Sakura, and Ino cheered at his suggestion. Shikamaru dug into his pocket, pulled out his hand, and opened his palm. In it he held four sets of headphones.

"We'll use these to keep in touch; we should all be able to communicate within this area."

Each one took a headset and put it on.

"Enjoy yourselves." was Shikamaru's last command before the couples split up into different directions.

…

There was a loud gong that interrupted the festivities of the populace, every person who was in the streets of the city stopped and turned towards the Great Palace.

"That's our cue. Get into position, make sure you're stationed in the front, so we can see any suspicious activity." Shikamaru ordered as the sound of static ended his sentence.

"Understood." Every else added.

The team managed to reach the front of the crowd, facing the giant palace as the monumental scarlet doors began to open. Two lines of seemingly limitless guards stepped out in single file, all cloaked in black uniforms.

At the end of the line, stood a man with long black hair and a pale complexion.

"That's him. The guy at the very end, he's the guy we're here to protect."

The uniformed bodyguards stepped aside, forming a line on each side of the Gigantic doors.

"I thought you said that this guy didn't have any guards." Naruto complained.

"Apparently our Intel got it wrong. Be on the lookout though."

Behind the Prince emerged a tall man with a long, drooping face, wearing a decorative ceremonial headdress and holding a fan. He signaled with his hands and the crowd immediately became quiet; not even a cricket made noise.

He stepped up to a podium equipped with a microphone.

"People of the Land of Fire. Today is a momentous occasion, the day that you are presented with the grand ceremony of my only son, and the choosing of his wife. Be joyful today, for today is the day that we see the future that will rule this beautiful country, and bring us into a new era of peace and prosperity!"

The crowd cheered. He lowered his hand, and the crowd quieted down once more.

"And now, bring out the bridal candidates! Those women deemed worthy of becoming the new Princess!"

Just a few feet away from them, twenty-four men emerged from the crowd, carrying six carriages, the marched in unison towards the middle of the courtyard and dropped the carriages.

Naruto could see the fabric that draped over the carriages lift up, and then fall down. The carriages were then picked up once again, and the men walked back into the crowd.

In front of the Prince stood six women dressed in ornate ceremonial robes. The people cheered as they came into view. Sakura glanced at Naruto with worry in her eyes, but noticed that he didn't seem surprised or interested in them.

His lack of reaction to them caused a smile to stretch across her face.

"Now, My only son. Choose which one of these women will be your bride!"

The Prince walked up to them, meticulously looked at each one of them. He raised his eyebrow for a moment, then walked pass the six of them.

His eyes met with Sakura's.

"I choose you."

* * *

**A/N:**

A) If Naruto decides to speak up and intervene against the Prince's decision, send the phrase "**Mission Failed**" as the subject line to _wanderingrurouni at hotmail dot com_

B) If Naruto decides to stay quiet and let events unfold without doing anything, send the phrase "**Love Compromised"** as the subject line to _wanderingrurouni at hotmail dot com_

Voting ends on Sunday, September 1st


	19. Mission Failed

**Mission Failed**: 48 Votes

**Love Compromised:** 4 Votes

There's a pretty large margin, and I don't think it'll change in the next 7 hours, so here it is early.

_**Warning**__: Brief abuse + somewhat descriptively (gory/bloody/painful) scenes in this chapter…sorry to offend, probably one of the "darkest" chapters I'll ever write._

**CHAPTER RATING: T**

* * *

**Episode 19: Royal Consort, Part IV: Mission Failed**

"I choose you." The Prince said aloud, he stepped closer to Sakura with intent.

"Naruto, I know you're angry, but don't act too quickly." Shikamaru hastily ordered. "We'll figure it out, don't overeac-"

Static cut off Shikamaru's voice from Naruto's ear. The prince moved closer to Sakura, raising his hand to take hers. She stood still, shocked and speechless.

Naruto stepped in front of her and pushed his arm away.

"You don't get to choose her." Naruto said in a deep voice. His eyes stared into the Prince's with grim determination. "I won't let you." The Prince raised his eyebrow and smiled smugly at the blonde haired peasant that stood before him.

"Does she belong to you?" he asked sarcastically.

"She doesn't belong to anyone. She chooses who she wants to be with." Naruto replied.

Sakura placed her hand on Naruto's shoulder and moved to his side.

"I've already chosen who I want to be with." She added.

Without warning, she felt the back of his hand strike her face.

"YOU ONLY SPEAK WHEN I SAY YOU CAN!"

Immediately, Naruto's fist struck him, sending him flying back and crashing into the ground. The entire populace gasped at the impact.

_Not good._ Shikamaru thought.

Instantly, the two columns of guards descended upon Naruto and Sakura; both had their arms restrained in handcuffs, laying face down on the ground. The guards tightly gripped their necks with metal gauntlets. The Prince regained his footing and walked back towards them.

* * *

**A/N:** "_gripped their necks_" in this case "necks" is the Trapezius muscle which sends out a crippling pain when it's being crushed.

* * *

"Pick them up." He ordered. The guards brought them to their knees. A blue glow began to emit from the guard that held Naruto's neck; Sakura could see the life being sucked out of him as his eyes unfocused.

…

"Shikamaru, what do we do?" Ino asked.

"I'm working on it." Shikamaru replied.

…

The Prince delivered a swift kick to Naruto's ribs. He spat out blood at the impact; he felt a stinging pain ripping through every muscle. The guards released his arms and he fell to the ground, shivering with agony. Sakura looked over at him with worry. Naruto's lips were stained in scarlet as he took in quick, shallow breaths.

The Prince raised his foot and kicked Naruto's face, whose head quickly snapped back. Sakura could see that his eyes had closed when his face came back into view.

"STOP! PLEASE STOP!" Sakura yelled "YOU'LL KILL HIM!" she begged in desperation. "I'll do anything, just…just stop hurting him."

"Stop! My son, what are you doing?! Stop this savagery!" The Daimyo shouted "This is not the way I had envisioned this ceremony!" The Prince turned towards his father with a look of scorn. Sakura glanced over at Shikamaru and Ino. She noticed that Ino was unconscious in Shikamaru's arms.

"Stop this madness! As your father, I command that this end!" He pointed at the guards. "Release them this instant!" the guards eased their grip and let Sakura free. "Undo their bonds!" A click was heard and the handcuffs fell to the ground. "Now, step away and let them walk free! Your Daimyo commands it!" The guards in black did as he ordered.

Sakura slowly made her way to Naruto. She gently turned him onto his back, opened his robe and placed her hand on his wound. She stared at his lifeless expression as her hands began to glow.

"Sakura, listen to me." Shikamaru's voice echoed through the audio of the headset. "This mission is over, we've been compromised. They still don't know anything about us. They don't know we're shinobi. They don't know we're from Konoha. Let's get out of here."

The Prince began to walk towards his father. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a Kunai.

"What the hell…Shit! Ino, get out of there!" Shikamaru shouted.

Ino's eyes shot open just as the Prince slashed the Daimyo's throat with the kunai. Blood squirted out and stained his face. A grim smile formed across his lips. Turning around, he took the microphone from the podium.

"His orders no longer matter to you men! I am now the Daimyo! KILL THIS PEASANT!" his voice boomed with madness. The entire crowd was shocked at the sight of their former Daimyo's lifeless body twitching before the feet of this tyrant. More guards flooded out of the palace and began to form a barricade, striking down any person who would try to intervene in any way.

Sakura froze at what she had just seen. The Prince approached her with intent in his eyes. She shook her head and regained her wits. She took her footing and stood by Naruto.

"You will die trying to get to him!" She readied herself as the guards began to charge. One tried to grab her arm; she turned and delivered a downward fist that planted his face directly on the ground. Focusing her chakra into her feet, she kicked him and sent him flying into the crowd.

Yet another tried to restrain her by grabbing her arm, she took hold of his, straightened it, and delivered a forceful upward blow to his elbow, which broke with a loud crack. She carried her momentum and tossed him into the crowd as his broken arm flailed with the wind.

Another two charged towards her, she ducked under the first's assault, and delivered a blow into his stomach that dropped him to the ground; following through with her movements, she tackled the second man behind the first, took hold of his jaw, and with a green glow, began to tighten her hand around it. His eyes widened in panic; blood stained her bare hand as his jaw gave in to her strength and broke into fragments.

She stood again and looked at the Prince with resolve in her eyes. Another guard advanced towards her. In his right hand he wore the same metallic gauntlet that was used on Naruto. He ran towards her and tried to take a hold of her.

Sakura side-stepped him and took hold of the gauntlet. She delivered a chakra-assisted knee to his midsection, and a bone-crushing punch to the side of his face. As he fell, the gauntlet smoothly slipped off of his arm. She looked at it, and slipped it onto her right hand. The tyrannical Prince motioned for them to attack again, another two jumped at her, she took hold of one by his neck with her right hand, she tightened her grip around his neck, he began to panic as his neck was being crushed by her immense strength.

The gauntlet began to glow blue. And Sakura could feel even more power being pumped into her being. She dropped his corpse and turned towards the other guard.

Her eyes began to glow with brilliance, tinted in a strong sapphire. The lone guard stood before her, shaking in fear. She slowly advanced towards him, walking over the bodies that she left in her wake. He slowly began to back away, but then charged towards her.

She delivered a strike to his midsection with her left leg; he fell to the ground, only supported by his knees. She lifted her leg and forced her heel down upon his neck. His head fell to the floor, causing a dust cloud to sprout from the stone tiles. Sakura slowly advanced towards the new tyrant.

"Kill her!" he commanded, no one moved at his command. Sakura glanced over at Shikamaru and saw that he had his hands clasped together, with a small string of shadow attaching every guard's shadow together.

She smiled when she realized what he had done. The tyrant began to back away as Sakura advanced towards him. He fell over and began to crawl. Before he could react, he sat in Sakura's shadow; she stared at him with contempt, and noticed that his eyes were beginning to water, his mouth hung wide open, and he trembled with fear.

…

"_It's time to wake up, Naruto."_

…

"Everyone! Leave now!" Shikamaru shouted while releasing his shadow "Get out of here!"

The crowd gasped as they heard a bubbling sound; the populace, and the guards ran for their lives. Soon, there were only five people standing in front of the royal palace.

Sakura turned to witness Naruto floating back onto his feet; a red aura engulfed his entire body. His nails began to sharpen, his teeth began to extend into fangs, his deep blue eyes transformed into a dark scarlet, and the red aura took the shape of a fox.

Naruto let out a fierce roar, and charged towards Sakura, seemingly in flight, he struck her midsection, and sent her flying with a crash into the palace. She felt a burning sensation where she was struck and fell to the ground.

Sakura turned up to see Naruto holding the tyrant by his throat; listening closely, she heard his screams of pain and agony. Naruto's fingers were slowly digging into his larynx, her expression changed when she saw a bloody explosion from Naruto's hand.

The tyrant's corpse fell from Naruto's grasp; he then slowly turned his fierce eyes towards Sakura.

...and took off in a vicious charge.

* * *

**A/N:**

A) If Sakura tries to aggressively handle the Nine-Tails Naruto, send the phrase **"Withered sakura" **(without quotes) as the subject line to _wanderingrurouni at hotmail dot com_

B) If Sakura tries to carefully handle the Nine-Tails Naruto, send the phrase **"Scarlet Tears" **(without quotes) as the subject line to _wanderingrurouni at hotmail dot com_

**Voting Ends Sunday, September 8th**

I also want to say that I won't be writing next week, so no chapters will be published until AT LEAST the **THIRD**(my mistake)week of September.

Thanks for reading!


	20. Scarlet Tears

**Withered sakura: **0 Votes

**Scarlet Tears****: **42 Votes

Wow, totally one-sided. Good Choice.

**CHAPTER RATING: T**

* * *

**Episode 20: Royal Consort, Part V: Scarlet Tears**

Streaks of red followed Naruto's body as he charged towards Sakura; his movements blurred her vision as she looked on. Snapping back into reality, she realized what was happening before her eyes. Before she realized it, Naruto's extended hand was reaching towards her face.

She quickly leaned back, dodging his newly-formed claws. She began to mold chakra into her hands and feet; planting her feet deep into the concrete; she reached over and tightly grasped his arm with her chakra-assisted grip. She planted her feet deeper into the ground, which sunk her even further into the concrete, as she threw him towards one of the monumental posts that held up the great palace.

_Naruto…what's wrong? You really don't recognize anyone in your current state of mind, do you?_ She thought as she saw him flip and soar through the air. His feet landed on the pillar, he caught himself and slid down the pillar, his claws grinding away at the wood, creating slivers as he soared to the ground below.

Sakura's eyes were filled with worry as she saw his hand, the claws had dug themselves nearly all the way through the pillar, the tips of is fingers began to bleed. Naruto landed and crouched down lower, his appearance and actions become even more animalistic.

She glanced at his face and saw his whiskers become more pronounced, his eyes became darker, and more sinister. She listened again and saw another tail form next to the first one. He charged again, with even more speed this time.

…

"Shikamaru, what's happening to Naruto?" Ino asked in a panic.

"He's entered his Nine-Tails state. He should still be able to distinguish between who he's fighting, but it seems that he's been pushed over the edge this time."

"Could it have been because…"

"Most likely, anyway, now's not the time to try and analyze everything we're seeing before us. We need to help Sakura as soon as we can."

"Right. How do we go about that."

"We'll do it the way we usually do it." Shikamaru brought his hands together just as Naruto began his charge towards Sakura.

"SAKURA, MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!" Shikamaru shouted. Sakura molded her chakra into her feet once again. She leaned back and fell onto her hands. Naruto launched himself and landed behind her.

"_Kagemane no Jutsu!"_ A shadow shot forth and and held Naruto in place.

"Shintenshin no Jutsu!"(**Mind Body Switch Technique**) Ino cried out as she held her hands out and fell to the ground.

She entered his mind, which was swirled in a vortex of a deep scarlet. She desperately tried to enter his mind, to resurface some of his memories that could possibly bring him back to reality. She searched through his memories and recalled all of the memories that he had with Sakura, from when Team 7 was first announced to the first time she gave him her genuine confession.

She reached deeper into his mind and began to pull his memories to his preconscious.

_Remember, Naruto, bring yourself back!_ She repeated in her own mind.

She managed to pull the memory closer, before the scarlet torn her away from his mind, and tossed her out of his consciousness. Her eyes opened, she looked up and saw Shikamaru holding Naruto with his shadow.

"Ino, were you able to do anything?" Shikamaru desperately asked.

"A little, I think it worked." They observed Naruto as he flinched. His expression softened for a moment.

"Let's hope it's enough…" He slurred. "I'm out of chakra."

His shadow slipped back towards him. Naruto shook his head, his face returned to its sinister state. He jumped and raised his hand up, ready to strike. Shikamaru and Ino braced for an impact.

Sakura molded more chakra into her feet and planted them deeper into the ground, a loud crash emanated from her location, she flew with great speed and tackled Naruto, only inches from Shikamaru and Ino. As she embraced him from the impact, she felt as if her skin was engulfed in flames. She landed on her back and tossed him further.

She landed on her back, dragging across the hard ground. She stood up slowly as she stared him down. She held her left arm across her ribs, panting as she felt the burning in her midsection.

Her right arm hung at her side. She forced herself to bring it back up, outstretched it and charged forward. She charged the gauntlet in her arm with chakra, which began to glow a great sapphire hue. Naruto charged to her at the same moment.

They clashed in a impact that that let out a giant explosion of pure, blinding violet. She molded her chakra through the gauntlet; the bloody red aura that surrounded Naruto began to dissipate. She pushed her arm against his chest and felt a sharp pain under her eyes. She could feel a streak of blood flowing down her cheek as Naruto's aura began to shrink around him. She grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer; wrapping her arms around him, she brought his chest to hers. The burning that she felt began to disappear.

"Come back to me, Naruto." She whispered into his ear.

His eyes shut as Sakura let him down onto his back. Droplets of red fell from her face onto Naruto's. She laid him down on the ground and brought her hand to wipe her face. Her hand was covered in blood, as if she was shedding tears of blood.

"I think we've been at this enough, Naruto." She said to the unconscious shinobi that she loved.

"Let's go home."

* * *

Thank you for reading! There will be no vote this week, because there's no cliff hanger here and I really want to establish a correct schedule for writing. So, here it is:

**Monday** is the day I will release the stories (remember, I'm writing two stories at the same time.)

If there is a vote that occurs in the story, the voting will end on the following **Friday**, that way, I have the weekend to write the stories.

But especially for this story, I have a interesting question for you, my dear audience:

**Do you recognize the foreshadowing written in these last few chapters? What do you think it means?**

Send your responses to _wanderingrurouni at hotmail dot com._

Thank you for again for reading.


	21. An Unexpected Return

**CHAPTER RATING: T**

* * *

**Episode 21: An Unexpected Return**

Weeks after the events at the royal palace, Naruto opened his eyes as he felt a burning across his entire body. He awoke inside a familiar room with white curtains and white sheets.

_Back in the hospital…? How many times have I been here?_ He thought. The door to his room clicked as it opened; from the opening emerged the one woman that he loved.

"Naruto!" Sakura said as she rushed over to him and took hold of his hand. "You're awake!" she shouted with joy.

"I'm…I'm awake." He replied drowsily. "What happened?"

Sakura's expression sunk as he asked his question. "Something happened to you while we were on our mission…You were knocked unconscious, and when you woke up, the nine-tails' chakra had taken over your body."

"D-Did I hurt you?" Naruto asked.

"No, nothing happened." Sakura replied while grapsing her ribs. "Nothing serious happened." She continued to lie. "But we have some good news."

"What's that?"

"We know a way to stop your transformation into the nine-tails."

"How?" he questioned.

"Like this." She grabbed his arms and pulled him closer into an embrace. His expression softened as he felt her body warmth against him. He lowered his head and buried his face into her shoulder.

"I always knew that I'd be fine as long as you're with me." He said with a smile.

Another knock came from the door, Shikamaru entered the room just as Sakura let go of Naruto..

"Yo, Naruto, how are you feeling?" He asked.

"Better." Naruto replied with a smile. "What are you doing here, Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru approached the two and sat down on a vacant chair next to Sakura.

"I'm here to check up on you, after all, I was the Jounin on our mission, the well-being of my team is something that I need to be concerned with." Shikamaru leaned back into the chair. "How have you been?" he asked Sakura.

"I was just worried about Naruto, it's better now that he's feeling better, but the medics say that he'll need another day of rest before he's made a full recovery." She replied.

"I see, well, rest up, you don't know when something will come up again." Shikamaru stated while he turned and began to walk out of the room.

"Wait, Shikamaru?" Shikamaru turned to Naruto. "What happened during our mission?"

Shikamaru sighed deeply as he turned his head. "You don't have to worry about it, Since those events, the High Council will be overlooking the affairs of the Land of Fire. Don't worry yourself." Shikamaru finally said as he walked out the door, closing it behind him.

"Sakura-chan…What happened?" he desperately asked her. Sakura looked at him with worry.

"I'll-I'll tell you some other time, but for now, you'll need to get some rest." She said with a tight grip on his hand. He nodded his head and leaned back deeper into his bed.

Sakura stood up and turned around. "I'll be here if anything happens to you."

…

Naruto awoke the next day to a similar scene. A knock came at the door, and a woman with blonde hair entered the room.

"Uzumaki Naruto?" she asked. Naruto nodded. "We have you scheduled for discharge today, are you feeling well enough to leave?"

"I'm feeling great. Thank you." Naruto replied. The nurse helped him out of the bed into a wheelchair and pushed him down towards the main desk. There, he stood on his own feet and stretched. He gave a wave goodbye to the nurse that helped him and walked onto the main street of Konoha.

He slowly walked through the streets, and while passing through the stores and stalls, came across _Yamanaka Flowers_.

"Naruto!" Ino greeted him. "How are you feeling?" she asked him.

"Better, thanks." She replied while reaching into his pocket for his wallet. "I'm stopping by to get some flowers for Sakura-chan, do you know what she likes?"

Ino sat in silence for a few moments as she scanned the inventory. She moved into the greenhouse and soon emerged with a pink flower with overlapping petals.

"Pink, just like Sakura's hair, perfect, right?" Ino said with a smile. Naruto smiled and nodded. He opened his frog wallet and began to sort through the currency.

"How much do I owe you?" he asked.

"This bouquet is on me." Ino insisted while handing him the collection of flowers. "I've known for a while now about you and Sakura." She said while leaning over the counter. Naruto smiled nervously and nodded.

"T-Thank you." He said with appreciation. Ino nodded and waved as he walked out the door.

"Take care of Sakura." Ino said to him as he closed the door behind him. He turned and smiled at her.

"I will."

…

Naruto walked over to Sakura's house and knocked on the door. He stood silently by the door, waiting for it to open. He could hear footsteps behind the door while he waited.

The door opened as he saw Sakura's mother staring at him. Nervously, he spoke.

"Uh…H-Hello, Mebuki-san, is Sakura-chan here?"

"She's not here at the moment. She's actually in the training field, honing her technique that she created a few months ago."

"O-Oh, okay, T-Thank you. It was nice seeing you…again…?" he said nervously, those odd events that happened were still fresh in his mind.

"Is something wrong…?" she asked him.

"N-No, nothing's wrong. Well, I need to go." He stated as he turned around and made his way towards Konoha's gate.

"Take care." Were her last words to him as he walked away.

…

Sakura stood in a ready position, her right fist clenched tightly; before him a tree was deeply rooted in the ground. For this technique, she didn't mold any chakra, it relied more on dexterity than it did strength.

She drew back her arm and struck the tree with her knuckles, almost immediately after the first strike, she bent her hand and struck the tree again. The tree turned into dust at the impact.

She took a deep breath as the wind blew the dust away from her. She opened her eyes and looked across the horizon.

"Sakura." A voice echoed behind her.

Sakura turned to face the disembodied voice.

Her heart nearly stopped as she laid her eyes upon him.

"S-Sasuke-kun…"

* * *

**A/N**

I've been wondering about this for a few hours now.

I've decided to put up a poll, **not a vote**, but a poll.

1) If you think Sasuke has returned to do good, send the word: "**Redemptive**" as the subject line to _wanderingrurouni at hotmail dot com_

2) If you think Sasuke has returned to do evil, send the word "**Deceptive"** as the subject line to _wanderingrurouni at hotmail dot com_

Thanks for reading, and tune in next Monday for the results of the poll and the actual events!


	22. Veil of Redemption

**Redemptive – **12 votes

**Deceptive – **26 votes

I received a lot of "I Hate Sasgay!" notes with the poll.

To see the events unfold, read on!

**CHAPTER RATING: T**

* * *

**Episode 22: Veil of Redemption**

"S-Sasuke-kun…?" Sakura said with hesitation. "W-What are you doing here?"

"I'm home." Sasuke replied with a smile. "Aren't I allowed to come home?" he said while stepping forward.

"I…I…" Sakura stuttered. "…I guess that does make sense." Sasuke stepped forward, Sakura stepped back with every step that he took.

"What can I do to help you trust me, Sakura?" He asked, then he raised an eyebrow, and brought forth a bag that he had attached to his belt.

"DON'T MOVE!" Sakura shouted. Sasuke froze in his tracks. Sakura noticed a liquid dripping from the black bag, that stained the green grass with a scarlet hue.

"Okay, Sakura…I'm just going to show you something in this bag, I promise you that it's not something that will hurt you." He placed the bag down and began to open it.

The breeze rushed from behind Sakura. She noticed pink petals scattering with the wind.

…

"RASENGAN!" Naruto's voice exploded from behind Sakura as a swift wind shot past her. Naruto stopped in his tracks as he made contact with Sasuke's chest. The impact let out a shockwave that rocketed Sasuke back, breaking multiple trees in the process.

Sakura shook her head and rushed towards Sasuke. Naruto watched with confusion as she ran. Sasuke sat leaned up against a tree trunk, a deep scar sat on his chest.

Sakura ran up towards him, her hands glowing green, had already started to heal his wound.

"Sakura-chan…? What are you doing?" Naruto asked in confusion. Sakura turned to him and offered a similar expression.

"Naruto…" she said with a low voice. "I don't know why Sasuke's back…but we won't find out why he's back if he dies…so…"

"D-Do you believe me now?" Sasuke asked with contempt. "I let you hit me on purpose, Naruto…What else do you want from me?"

"How do we know that we can trust you?" Naruto asked. Sasuke gestured toward the bag.

"Look in there."

Sakura's hands still lay on Sasuke's chest as Naruto walked over and picked up the bag. The liquid dripped a path behind him as he walked a few feet away from them.

Naruto placed the bag down on the ground and opened it. Sakura could almost see the surprise in his posture.

"Naruto?! What is it?" Sakura panicked. Naruto slowly straightened his posture and turned around with the bag in his hand. He grasped the scarlet soaked bottom and turned it over, letting the contents fall out onto the emerald grass.

The heads of Orochimaru and Kabuto rolled towards Sakura.

Sakura could almost feel her stomach rising at the sight.

"Do you trust me now?"

…

"These are most definitely the heads of Orochimaru and Yakushi Kabuto." Shizune stated to the other medical shinobi in Konoha's Autopsy Lab. She looked at them with assurance. "We've crossed the DNA of these two corpses with the data that we have on file for the two."

"Unbelievable, to think that Uchiha Sasuke could kill both of these two." Another shinobi added.

"Where is he at this time?" Shizune asked.

"He's currently in the hospital."

"What about Naruto?"

"He's been called to a private meeting with Hokage-sama, we were told that no one else was allowed to enter her office until further notice."

"What could they be discussing at this time?"

…

"Uchiha Sasuke…he's returned?" Tsunade asked Naruto and Shikamaru. Naruto nodded with what seemed like confusion and confliction. "What's his purpose?!" she asked aloud. Naruto didn't answer. He didn't know whether the question was rhetorical, directed at him, or even an actual question.

"Shikamaru, any answers?" Tsunade asked. Shikamaru shrugged as he leaned against the wall.

"I don't know what his intentions are, but the results from the lab prove that he's serious with his actions." He asserted. "But I don't really know much about Sasuke myself, do you know anything, Naruto?"

Naruto took a deep breath, grabbed a chair and sat down. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees while arching his back. His thoughts raced back.

_Kakashi-sensei told me to keep this to myself but…_

"Do you know the truth behind Uchiha Itachi?" Naruto quietly asked.

"What truth?" Tsunade questioned. Shikamaru glanced over at Naruto.

Naruto took a deep breath.

* * *

**A/N:** Insert Itachi's incredible tale of self-sacrifice here.

* * *

The room was silent for what seemed like minutes before anyone spoke.

"That's the truth behind Itachi's actions?" Tsunade questioned.

"…I never liked the way that these issues were solved." Shikamaru added.

"That's the truth," Naruto added. "But I don-"

"Do not trust him, Naruto." Tsunade ordered. "I know there's history between you two, but that only allows him to exploit it. He may have been your best friend, but don't make any mistake by having full trust in him. Do you understand?"

Naruto hesitated to answer.

"Don't you remember when he tried to KILL SAKURA?!" Tsunade shouted. "When he tried to KILL YOU?!" Naruto flinched at the truth that stung his heart. "I won't lose you two by his deception! Do not trust him! IS THAT CLEAR?!"

Naruto begrudgingly nodded.

"Shikamaru, keep an eye on anything suspicious that arises." Tsunade added.

"I'll make sure nothing happens."

"Remember, everything you heard in this room didn't happen." Tsunade added.

Naruto and Shikamaru nodded an understanding.

"Good. Dismissed!"

…

Sasuke laid in a hospital bed, his chest wrapped in white bandages. A nurse walked into his room and greeted him with a kind smile.

"How are you feeling today?"

"Better, thank you." He replied while sitting himself up.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" the nurse asked politely.

"Yes." Sasuke said with a grin. "Please, bring me Haruno Sakura."

…

"Sakura!" Ino shouted as she ran towards he best friend. Sakura stood on the cliff overlooking Konoha, right above the mountain-side sculptures of the First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Hokage. She turned around as she heard her friend.

"Ino? What is it?" Sakura asked.

"Have you heard? Sasuke-kun has returned!"

Sakura nodded blankly

"What's wrong? I thought you would be happy about the news." Ino asked with worry.

"N-Nothing. Nothing's wrong." Sakura replied flatly "I…I just don't know."

"Sakura…Cheer up! One of your teammates has returned home! We've all moved on since he left, but one of your closest friends has returned. Smile!" Ino said with enthusiasm.

"Yeah…I…"

"Sakura-san!" a voice yelled from behind them. They saw a woman running towards them. "Sakura-san! We have a request from Uchiha Sasuke."

The news caused Sakura and Ino to look at each other with confusion.

"He's requested to see you, personally."

_Everything's happening so fast. I need some time to think._

Sakura turned around in her silence.

"Sakura?" Ino walked over to Sakura and grasped her arms while turning her around. "Come on, Sakura, if he's asked for you, it must be important."

"Ino…Will you come with me?" Sakura asked with hesitation.

"Of course I will." Ino replied.

…

"He's in here." A nurse added as she led Sakura and Ino to Sasuke's hospital room. Just as she placed her hand on the door, Ino tapped Sakura's shoulder.

"Sakura, I've got to go." She whispered. Sakura glared at Ino with an expression of betrayal.

"What are you talking about? You said that we'd go in together!" Sakura shot at Ino.

"I forgot about something I needed to do at home, I'll see you later." Ino whispered back as she began to leave.

Sakura truned in disappointment and took a deep breath as she stepped into the room. Sasuke sat upright in his bed, with a friendly smile on his face.

"Sakura…" He began as she approached. "Would you have a seat by me? I have something that I need to tell you."

She walked to him, pulled a chair up and sat down next to him. She saw in his eyes something that she had never seen before: a genuine sadness that he didn't resolve with anger or violence, perhaps a sadness that he couldn't resolve with anger or violence.

"Sakura…"

"What is it, Sasuke-kun?" Sasuke held out an open palm, his fingers, twitching. Sakura brought her hand into his, he grasped it firmly with his hand.

"I'm sorry for what I've done. Everything. Everything I've done to you, to Naruto, to Konoha. There is nothing I regret more than the terrible things I've done in the past." His grip around her hand loosened as he turned and looked deeply into her eyes.

"There's something that I've had on my mind for the last nine years." He continued.

* * *

**A/N**: Characters are 21, 21 - 12(original _Naruto_) = 9

* * *

"What's that?" She asked.

"It's you, Sakura." He replied abruptly.

Sakura's eyes widened when she heard his words.

"All this time, that night when you tried to stop me has replayed in my mind, over and over."

"Then, why didn't you come back with us?" Sakura asked in frustration.

"I had to put on a good act to convince Orochimaru that I was on his side. I did deliver his head directly to the Autopsy Office." Sasuke shrugged.

"But, Sakura, what I'm trying to say here. Is, I realize now, that…"

Sakura froze as she heard his words.

"Sakura…Do you feel the same way?" Sasuke solemnly asked.

_I…I…_

* * *

**A/N:**

If Sakura tells Sasuke that she feels the same way, send the phrase **"EMBERS OF THE PAST" **as the subject line to_** wanderingrurouni at hotmail dot com.**_

If Sakura tells Sasuke the truth, send the phrase **"FADED FLAMES"** as the subject line to _**wanderingrurouni at hotmail dot** **com.** _

Thank you for reading! I hope you tune in next week.


	23. Faded Flames

**A/N:** Before you get to reading, I'd like to address some things about this story.

I received a flood of emails from one reader who was accusing my story of plot holes and not following the Lore of the Naruto Universe. Essentially making me feel like a dumbass who didn't have any right to write about one of my favorite pairings.(**EDIT: Just to clarify, this user was a guest user, so any review from a FF member was NOT this person**.)

In my best efforts to not sound like an utter **douchebag** (if you don't understand, look it up on **Urban Dictionary**) I'd like to say one thing:

Yes, there will be plot holes, but this is MY Fan Fiction, and it will not fully follow the original Naruto Lore, but it's MY choice as to where it goes.

If you're so concerned about the original Naruto Lore, please don't read my story, because I won't change the way I write just because you think I'm wrong.

There was also a reader who told me that I didn't know what I was writing when I re-introduced Sasuke to the story("it's a NaruSaku story, not a SasuSaku story.") Trust me, I **know** the pairing is NaruSaku.

Remember that the basis for every story is **Conflict**. If there was no conflict, there would be no story.

With that said…

**Embers of the Past** – 0 votes

**Faded Flames** – 72 votes

One thing I've learned from this whole "Choose your own Adventure" experiment is that NaruSaku fans are very decisive.

**CHAPTER RATING: T**

* * *

**Episode 23: Faded Flames**

"Sakura…don't you feel the same way?" Sasuke asked. Sakura turned and took Sasuke's hand.

"Sasuke-kun…Things have changed in the nine years that you've been gone." Sakura said as she gripped his hand tighter. "You left us for Orochimaru, and you even refused to come back with us when we met you again."

"But I told you, I had to do that to convince Orochimaru that I was with him!" Sasuke spoke up. "I really mean it this time, Sakura! You are the the one I want to be with!" he grasped her hand even tighter.

"Sasuke-kun…I'm sorry, but I love someone else now. You weren't there when I needed you, he was always with me, and he's the one that I love now."

"Who is it? Naruto?" Sasuke said in a deep tone. Sakura nodded to answer him. "I see. He's lucky to have you. I regret not being there for you, Sakura. I'm sorry; can you forgive me?"

Sakura heard a weakness in his voice that she had never heard from him before. She slowly let go of his hand and nodded.

"It's okay, Sasuke-kun. I'll forgive you." She turned and exited the room.

Behind her, Sasuke smirked.

…

Sakura caught up with Naruto as he walked out of the Hokage's office. She waved to him as he turned around.

"Naruto, where have you been?" She asked him.

"Oh…Uh…I was just talking with Kakashi sensei about our next mission." He lied, remembering that Tsunade had commanded both Naruto and Shikamaru that the meeting they had about Sasuke had never happened.

"Really? What is our next mission?" Sakura asked.

"Uh…well, we haven't actually talked about it that much, so I actually don't know what we're doing yet. But I'm sure we'll know within the next few days."

Sakura grabbed his arm with her own and dragged him along towards the Hokage cliff-face.

"I need to talk to you, but let's race to the top of the cliff first, just to make sure that we're both healthy, what do you say?"

"On your mark." Naruto said with a smile.

Both of them channeled chakra into their feet and raced upwards across the Hokage mountain faces. Naruto felt better than before, the pain in his ribs that had been exploited a few weeks ago was beginning to heal, he felt stronger than he had in months.

Both of them simultaneously reached the top of the cliff. When they did, they turned and gazed at the orange-tinted sunset. They sat on the cliff edge, Sakura gently set her head on Naruto's shoulder.

"Naruto, there's something I need to talk to you about." She began.

"What is it, Sakura-chan?"

"I need to talk to you about Sasuke-kun." Naruto eyes widened as he wondered what she could want to talk about concerning Sasuke.

"Today, I visited him in the hospital, by request." She said as she lowered her head. "And there's something he told me." She brought her head up and looked into his eyes. "He told me that he loved me…" Naruto's fist tightened at her words. "He said that he's been thinking about me for the last nine years…"

Naruto closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"But then, what happened?"

"I told him that I didn't feel the same way, it seems like that caused him more sadness. I don't know what we'll do."

"Sakura-chan," Naruto started as he placed a hand on her shoulder and looked at her. "I'm sure Sasuke will be alright, he's been through a lot since we've known him; and he did something that no one else could have done, he killed Orochimaru and Kabuto. What else could he have done to gain our trust?...I'm sure he can be trusted." He smiled his impeccable smile. Her expression sunk as he spoke. "But…" Sakura's expression softened. "If he can't be trusted…I'll make sure nothing happens to you."

They embraced each other and looked forward toward the sunset.

…

The next day, Naruto woke up to a knock on his door. He turned the knob and opened the door.

"Sasuke…?" He said with shock. "W-What is it? What do you want?"

"I just came over to see if you were interested in a little training session. It's been a long, long time since we both trained together."

"Uh…S-Sure. Just give me a few minutes to get ready." Naruto turned back and returned to him a few minutes later.

They walked side by side to the old training grounds they had attended so long ago. Sasuke took a deep breath.

"Naruto, I need to tell you something." He started. "I'd like to give you my sincere apologies for everything I've done. Everything I've ever said to you about being inferior to me, everything that I've done…I'm sorry. Please, try and understand that the only reason why I was so harsh to you is because I actually see you as my rival…As an equal."

"Do you really mean that?" Naruto asked as Sasuke nodded. "I'm happy that you feel that way. But just because we're friends, doesn't mean that we can't take each other seriously when training, right?" Naruto said with enthusiasm.

"Alright, I've already told Sakura to meet us here, she said that she'll be a little late, so we're start first." Sasuke extended his fist towards Naruto.

Naruto stared at Sasuke's fist, his mouth hung open and his eyes held disbelief; he closed his eyes, smiled, and extended his arm, meeting Sasuke's fist with his own.

They both spread out and faced each other across a large meadow. They both bowed and took their ready stances. They both smirked and charged towards one another.

As they closed the distance, Naruto brought his hands up and blocked Sasuke's right leg. In one swift motion, he took hold of Sasuke's leg and tossed him back across the meadow. Sasuke turned in mid-air and recovered from the fall.

"You've gotten better, Naruto." Sasuke complimented him as he charged again. Naruto landed a kick on Sasuke's forearm, pushing him further back with the impact. Sasuke took hold of Naruto's tracksuit, crouched and took to the air. He forcefully tossed Naruto down and turned to deliver a downward heel kick directly onto Naruto's back.

Naruto crashed to the ground with a loud thud; with a puff of smoke he disappeared.

"A shadow clone? Where is he?" Sasuke thought aloud. His head moved around quickly, scanning his surroundings to find Naruto; he felt a strong presence behind him and turned around to find two shadow clones charging towards him. He prepared for impact and shielded his face. The shadow clones slid towards him and sent him into the air.

Sasuke's head flew back at the impact. In the middle of flight, he regained his composure and managed to align his body to face towards the earth.

**"Katon! Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"** He blew into his hands and watched as a giant fireball engulfed the two shadow clones, who disappeared. The heat from the fireball launched Sasuke further upwards.

When the smoke cleared, Sasuke saw Naruto's shadow clones launching himself towards Sasuke. The two collided in the sky. Sasuke caught Naruto's fist with his own hand. He grasped Naruto's arm and twisted in mid air.

Naruto's back was facing the ground as they plummeted towards Earth. Sasuke held Naruto's face still; Naruto's eyes widened in confusion as he heard Sasuke speak while in the freefall.

"I consider you my equal, but you are nowhere near my skill." Sasuke looked into Naruto's eyes.

Naruto froze as he saw Sasuke's crimson pupils take on the form of a blood-stained flower.

…

Sakura emerged from the forest to see something falling from the sky. She watched as an impact collided with the ground. When she saw the dust cloud rise towards the sky, she ran towards the sound.

"Sakura!" Sasuke shouted. "Quick, Naruto's been hurt!" Sakura ran towards Sasuke with great urgency.

"What happened?" She asked him.

"We were training and Naruto became too reckless, he's hurt himself, he doesn't respond when I try to wake him up!"

Sakura rushed towards Naruto and helped him sit up. She waved her hand in front of his eyes, but he gave her no response.

"Sasuke-kun! We have to get him help right away!" Sasuke nodded.

"Let me try something." He looked into Naruto's eyes as his eyes shifted again into the petal shaped pupils.

Naruto let in a deep, desperate gasp for air as he came to.

"What happened?" he asked cluelessly.

"It doesn't matter," Sasuke replied. "At least you're okay now."

Sakura helped Naruto up to his feet. Naruto smiled at her and looked towards Sasuke.

He saw Sasuke's eyes change again, and began to hear a voice in his head as Sakura began to stand up.

_Naruto…I told you once that you didn't understand the same pain…the same loss that I felt when Itachi killed my entire clan._

_Now, you will understand that pain. You will understand that pain, and suffer._

Sasuke held out his hand as Sakura was turning towards him.

"**Chidori Eisō"** **(Thousand Birds Sharp Spear)**. Sasuke closed his eyes as the blue energy rushed towards Sakura.

Naruto felt his breath rush back into his lungs.

"_SAKURA-CHAN!"_


	24. Second Departure

There are some things I need to tell all of you at the end of the chapter, please enjoy it, and thank you for reading.

**CHAPTER RATING: T**

* * *

**Episode 24: Second Departure**

"_SAKURA-CHAN!"_

Naruto watched helplessly as the blade of blue energy shot forth and pierced Sakura through her spine, and exited through her midsection; she dropped to her knees as pain shot through her body. Her eyes wide open at the betrayal she had just fallen victim to, they closed as she let out one final desperate gasp for life, and fell forward. Naruto rushed over to Sakura and caught her in his arms. He looked over at Sasuke with contempt, anger, and hatred.

"How does it feel?" Sasuke smirked with grim satisfaction. "Now, you'll know what the pain of losing those you love is like." Sasuke turned and took a step forward.

Naruto stepped up to one knee.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Sasuke said mockingly. "You're smarter than that, Naruto. Look at the condition that Sakura's in; if you try and stop me, she won't last."

He turned again and looked upon Naruto with immense condescension.

"You love her, don't you?...Save her then…If you can." Sasuke smirked again as he turned to walk away. Naruto bit his lip at Sasuke's words. He breathed heavily in anger and frustration.

"SASUKE!" He shouted "ONE DAY! You'll pay for what you've done!"

"…If you manage to wake her up…" Sasuke smirked. "…Tell her that I did love her. She just made the **wrong choice**." Sasuke took another step forward, and vanished into the air with a blaze of flame.

While turning down and gazing upon the Kunoichi he had confessed to, Naruto noticed that her breathing became erratic, she began breathing in shallow, then deep breaths. Naruto looked down and saw a pool of blood forming where she had been injured; he shifted his gaze down and looked at her.

Sakura's face held an expression of deceptive peace, interrupted by a trail of blood that flowed down the edge of her mouth. Naruto's vision began to blur; droplets of water fell upon Sakura's face and trailed down her cheeks.

"I'm…I'm sorry, Sakura-chan…I said that I would protect you, but I couldn't."

He brought her close and held her in his arms for what seemed like an eternity.

"I'm…so…sorry…Sakura-chan."

…

Three figures stood in a white room, the noise of a heart monitor and rhythmic respirator filled the air.

"What happened?!" Tsunade shouted as she looked over her disciple that laid motionless on a hospital bed.

"I…I….tried to…" Naruto muttered silently.

Tsunade's hand impacted the side of his face, sending him down to the ground with a loud crash.

"I TOLD YOU! I told you not to trust him!" She shouted. "Look at what you've done!" Tsunade said as she looked down at Sakura. "How could…how could such a thing happen?" Tsunade's voice softed into a whimper. "Sakura…How could I let this happen to you?" She fell to her knees, took hold of Sakura's hand and lowered her head.

Naruto laid frozen on the floor, in shock and depression. He held a hand to his face, his eyes wide open.

"We'll find a way to bring you back, Sakura." Tsunade said as she stood and stormed out of the room, a trail of tears followed her every step. Naruto watched the door slam as the Fifth Hokage rushed out.

He stood and walked over to Sakura's side.

Her expression was the same as when Sasuke had attacked, the doctors managed to stop Sakura from bleeding; however, they hadn't managed to bring her to consciousness. Naruto lowered himself onto his knees and took Sakura's hand. He gently cupped it against his cheek, just as Sakura had done for him long ago.

"I promise you, Sakura-chan. I'll find a way to bring you back." He stood up and let her hand gently slid down off of his. "This promise is one I can keep."

With his unheard vow, he exited the room and let the sound of her heart-rate fade into the distance.

…

He found himself sitting atop the Hokage cliff faces, the same place where he had vowed to protect the person that he loved; he stared blankly at the stars that she had sworn her love upon.

He sat in utter silence, listening to the chirping crickets of the night.

_What am I going to do?...What can I do?_

"What seems to be the problem, my boy?" a small, but old voice shot out.

Naruto turned in surprise as he saw an old toad hop towards him.

"W-What are you doing here?" he asked the old sage. The old toad hopped closer with every passing second.

"It's a nice evening, isn't it?" he said while looking up at the stars. "The lights of the sky remind me of fireflies…which are delicious, by the way."

Naruto spat his tongue out at the sage's opinion.

"I know that something's wrong, Naruto, my boy." He hopped cloer to Naruto until he was just a few feet away from him. Naruto shifted his head down and met eyes with the wise toad. "What's wrong?"

Naruto took in a deep breath as he began to answer.

"I…made a grave mistake…I trusted someone who had deceived us before and someone I love has been hurt for that mistake."

"Is there anyway that I can help?"

"That's just it…I don't know if you can help…I just…" Naruto desperately scrambled with his thoughts, unsure of how to proceed with explaining the trouble that had befallen the one he loved.

"I already know the problem." The sage unexpectedly answered. Naruto's eyes widened as the toad answered.

"How? Tell me!" He demanded desperately.

"Well, I'll tell you once we get there." The toad added. "Quickly! We must hurry, we are running out of time!"

Confused, but trusting, Naruto nodded, channeled chakra into his feet and took off in a blaze down the cliff face.

…

"That's your plan?!" Tsunade questioned with a booming voice. "How can you do this?!"

"Naruto and I will take her to Mount Myōboku, where we will bring her back to life, and aid in her recovery." The sage clarified.

"We can't. Sakura is already unstable as it is, if we disconnect her from the life support system, she won't make it anywhere!"

"But if we don't do anything, she'll just…!" Naruto shouted in protest.

"Every second we waste arguing about this is another second we could be using to help her…Let us take her to Mount Myōboku, we will save her." The Sage Toad pleaded once again.

With a closed fist, Tsunade nodded. "Fine."

* * *

**A/N:**

1) If Naruto makes it to Mount Myōboku on time, send the phrase **Natural Remedies** as the subject line to _wanderingrurouni at hotmail dot com._

2) If Naruto doesn't make it to Mount Myōboku on time, send the phrase **Nine-Tailed Savior** to _wanderingrurouni at hotmail dot com._

_No matter what choice is chosen, remember: _ _**SAKURA WILL NOT DIE IN EITHER CHOICE!(that would be EXTREMELY stupid.)**_

* * *

Now, onto business.

**A/N:**

First of all, I want to answer some common questions that I've been receiving by email and PM, so, here's a FAQ that I want to post without having it take the place of an entire chapter.

**How do you manage to update so often?(not that I don't like it that you update every week.)**

I'm a 21 year-old college dropout(by choice) and have extra time to do things that I love, instead of doing things that other people tell me to do…and I love it.

**Why are your chapters so short?**

For one, I can't read a chapter that is over 2,000 words in one sitting, when I write these, I try to make them at least 1,000 words with some sort of story movement. I don't want to fill my chapters with unnecessary filler.

Two, I like being able to write smaller chapters and updating weekly, as opposed to writing larger chapters and updating monthly.

**What's your process for writing?**

I check out votes on Friday morning, write a rough outline Friday night, and write the actual chapters(ONE draft) on Saturday and Sunday(depending on which story I feel like writing)

**Why did you start the whole "choose your own adventure" voting?**

I started this because doing two stories at the same time was beginning to burn me out, and I was essentially running out of ideas. Now the thing is, I don't want to take other peoples' ideas, write them down, and claim them as my own, I'd like to have my audience have some sort of input on the direction that my story is going in.

In essence, it was a way to bring life back into my writing…I guess.

**You're writing two conflicting stories, two of the most popular pairings that are complete opposites! WHAT IS YOUR FAVOIRT PAIRING?! PICK ONE!**

…Uh…I'll enjoy ANY pairing, as long as it makes sense, it'll work for me. **NaruHina** or **NaruSaku**? It doesn't matter which pairing I choose, because as long as it makes sense, I'm fine with it.

Also, as a male writer, I don't exactly know how to describe a man's body…If any female readers out there could help me out, I'd appreciate it! :)

**Now, on to the thing that I need to discuss…**

A few chapters ago, I said that I may not be able to update every week.

This time has come. My brother and I have started on a large project that could last for months. We don't know how long it will take us to finish it. I will try my best to update these stories, but for now, I'll be taking a few weeks off to focus on this other project. I don't think another chapter will be posted until November.

For now, I will publish one more chapter next week, from there, I don't know if I can keep this schedule.

Thank you for following me this far; I hope that you continue to read what I write.


	25. Nine-Tailed Savior

Natural Remedies – 42 Votes

Nine-Tailed Savior – 46 Votes

Very close. I'll need to come up with more votes like this.

**CHAPTER RATING: T**

* * *

**Episode 25: Nine-Tailed Savior**

Naruto entered Sakura's hospital room with the Sage Toad Fukasaku, sitting on his right shoulder. The white room was still being bombarded by the sound of Sakura's steady breath, and her erratic heartbeat. A doctor attended to Sakura every hour, in case anything went severely wrong.

"We're here to take Sakura." The Sage stated clearly in his gruff voice. The doctors were taken aback in shock.

"What are you talking about?" One of them asked while staring at Naruto. "If we remove her from life support, she'll die!" he added.

"But we have a way that can save her!" Naruto shot back. The doctor shook his head. With a depressed look, he stated:

"Even if you manage to bring her out of this coma, even if you manage to heal her, it's too late for her now."

"What do you mean?" The Sage Toad asked. The doctor motioned for a demonstrative skeletal model to be hauled up next to him.

"When Sasuke attacked her," he pointed to the bottom of her spine. "He struck her near here. We've done the best we can, but the damage has been too great. Even if you manage to wake her up, she won't be able to walk. There's been too much nerve damage."

The trio stood in silence at the news. Naruto balled up his fist, his veins in his wrists popping out of his skin.

"Even…Even if that's the case. Sakura-chan wouldn't want this! She wouldn't want to be sitting here in a hospital bed, doing nothing! Even if she wasn't able to walk, she'd still find something to live for! I know it!" He shouted with determined ignorance. "We've got to at least try something!"

The doctor sighed deeply and placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"There's nothing we can do." He said solemnly. "I'll give you some time to earn some peace of mind." The doctor walked away and closed the door behind him.

Fukasaku looked at Naruto with confidence.

"Don't worry, Naruto, my boy. I have a way." He hopped to the middle of the room and began to instruct Naruto.

"First, move that desk in front of the door." Naruto moved towards the desk, and as slowly as he could, he began to push the desk until it blocked the entire door.

"Next, move this chair, we'll need the middle of the room for this next stage." Naruto did as he was instructed.

"Okay, now, give me your hand." The toad ran his finger across Naruto's palm; blood began to leak from a painless wound. The Sage took the some blood from Naruto's wound and dropped down to the floor. He hopped across the room and began to draw shapes in the center of the room.

Within minutes, there was a sequence of smaller circles in larger circles, with strange symbols written all around them. The Sage Toad nodded and looked up at Naruto; he hopped beside Sakura on the bedside and motioned for Naruto to follow.

"Now, pay close attention. We'll start the process here." The Sage said as he rubbed his chin. "We will take advantage of your ability to manipulate Nature Chakra to temporarily heal Sakura." Naruto nodded. "Focus now, and enter Sage Mode."

Naruto nodded and closed his eyes. He focused for a few seconds before an orange hue began to overlap his eyes. He opened his eyes that had flattened pupils and a new yellow hue.

"Now, bring your hands to her stomach." Naruto did as he instructed. "Now, focus, and bring the Chakra around us into you hands, you'll be able to heal her enough for us to take her to Mount Myōboku safely." Naruto's hands began to glow green, he could feel Sakura's body being healed with the Nature Chakra. "Remember to remain calm, you need to keep your Chakra balanced, use Nature Chakra and only Nature Chakra."

Naruto took a deep breath.

"Good, that should be enough to keep her healthy until we can reach the right place in Mount Myōboku. Now, bring her down from her bed and place her down in the middle of this seal."

Naruto slowly detached the wire that were attached to Sakura, picked her up and placed her into the middle of the seal.

"Now, stand next to me." He pointed next to him. Naruto did as instructed. Fukasaku closed his eyes and before Naruto realized it, he was standing among giant mushroom trees, and green swamp.

"Quick now, the summoning has taken a huge toll on our first healing, pick up Sakura and follow me. Quickly!" Naruto bent down on his knee and picked up Sakura. Fukasaku began to hop with haste up a road that led to a mountaintop.

Naruto's eyes were still shifted in Sage Mode; his worry grew exponentially as he felt her life ebbing away before him. Her life was literally in his hands. Fukasaku stopped dead in his tracks.

"We're too slow, we need to do this now. Place her down." Naruto gently let her down onto the ground.

"Now place your hand on her again." Naruto gently laid his hands on her. "Remember, it's VERY important that you remain calm, if you don't terrible things may happen! Stay calm!"

Naruto took another deep breath. His hands began to glow an emerald hue. "Naruto, use the energy of Mount Myōboku, this will heal her faster and more efficiently." Naruto focused the energy around him into healing Sakura.

Fukasaku looked up at Naruto's expression and his eyes widened.

"Hey, Naruto!"

Naruto gave no response.

In his mind, Naruto's thoughts were in turbulence. Sasuke's words torn away at his consciousness.

"_How does it feel?"_

"_Now you'll know what the pain of losing those you love is like."_

"_You love her, don't you?...Save her then…If you can."_

The image of the blue energy piercing through Sakura played in his mind a thousand times within the span of seconds. He was in a trance, filled with frustration, anger, and rage.

His hands began to glow red, and Sakura's wounds began to heal at a miraculous rate.

"NARUTO! STOP!"

He shook his head and opened his eyes.

Sakura began to stir, and opened her eyes.

They shined red with a burning fire that had never been there before.

* * *

There's no vote this week, and as I said before, I have another project that requires my attention, so don't expect another chapter next week.

Thanks for reading!


	26. Ashes from the Flames

**It looks like I returned a little early! Yay!**

**But my schedule is still a little rough, so I'll release chapters when I can, so I'm not sure when the next chapter will be released**

**CHAPTER RATING: T**

* * *

**Episode 26: Ashes from the Flames**

Sakura's eyes snapped open, they glistened with a hint of crimson and held no discernible expression. But the light that entered them seemed to gather, but never dissipate, their brilliance increased exponentially with every passing second, until and aura began to engulf Sakura's entire body, encasing her in a crimson mold that seemed to have a life of it's own.

"Naruto! Get away from her!" The Toad Sage yelled. Naruto's expression changed from fascination to fear as Fukasaku's words entered his ears. He turned and took off, before he could even set his foot down to begin running, an incredible explosion echoed behind him. A burning force struck him in the back, and sent him careening forward towards a cliff face.

He crashed into the rocky mountain side, falling backwards onto the moss-covered ground and felt an immediate pain shoot through his body. Surprisingly, it radiated from his back, and caused his mind to lose focus. His pupils regained volume, his eyes retained their sapphire shade, the orange hue that accented his eyelids faded into air. Desperately, he planted his palms firmly into the ground and brought his face up. Immediate shock tore through his vision and into his mind.

The landscape was on fire.

The tall mushroom trees became foreboding towers of flame. The surrounding moss was scorched jet black. The emerald sky had bled and became a scarlet blanket; everything was being devoured by flames, flames filled with frustration, confusion, and rage. He shook his head and regained his composure, with his eyes, he focused on a small green figure that approached him.

"What happened?" He asked in confusion. Fukasaku hopped his way to Naruto.

"Foolish boy!" He scolded Naruto. "You were supposed to remain calm!" He made is way closer to Naruto, and delivered a web-handed slap across Naruto's aching face.

"You let your emotions take over! You lost your clarity of mind!" Naruto lay before Fukasaku and nodded depressingly, realizing his horrid mistake.

"Is there anything we can do? Anything at all?" Naruto asked. Fukasaku brought his hand to his chin.

"Sakura's Chakra is out of balance. You were supposed to use Nature Chakra to have the energies of the world heal her, but in your blind rage, you used the Chakra of the Nine-Tails!" Fukasaku took a deep breath. "If Sakura cannot fight the Nine-Tails Chakra on her own…we will have to rebalance her Chakra, and suppress the Nine-Tails within her." Fukasaku brought a depressing look to Naruto.

"What happens if we can't stop the Nine-Tails Chakra?" Naruto asked.

"…If we cannot stop it…Sakura will die." Naruto's expression sunk at the thought of losing Sakura…at the thought that he would have killed Sakura.

"Okay." Naruto took a deep breath.

"Now listen! We **MUST** use the energies of Mount Myōboku to rebalance her chakra. You cannot use your own! If you try, you will lose your own Chakra, and we will have a catastrophe on our hands."

"What kind of catastrophe?"

"You will be taken over by the Nine-Tails Chakra, and we will have a battle between two energies that can barely be contained within one single person. If that happens, this world will soon be entirely engulfed in flames."

"What do we do?" Naruto asked.

"We must do our best to establish physical contact, which is the only sure way to transfer Chakra into her."

Naruto readied himself and faced Sakura. Her possessed body took slow, deliberate steps towards him. They seemed to leave behind tracks that burned deep into the ground, leaving embers that would burst into flames at the swirling winds that surrounded her body.

Naruto charged forward, intent on doing what he had originally came here to do-save the one person that he loved.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Two shadow clones appeared beside him. They took to the red sky and began to fall full force towards Sakura. Without warning, the Chakra that surrounded her formed two tails, shot for the, and grasped the shadow clones' legs. The tails flung them up and slammed them down into the scorched earth. Naruto and Fukasaku sat dumbfounded at the spectacle. Naruto summoned three more shadow clones; two of them launched the third one like a slingshot. He slid towards her with the intent of sending her towards the sky. He slid and raised his leg up, only to be caught by Sakura's hands.

With a swift twist, she broke his ankle and lifted him towards the sky, holding him high, she forcefully slammed him down once he reached the apex of his height. Sakura was still advancing slowly towards Naruto when the other shadow clones attacked. The same scenario occurred, two tails sprouted from the blood-red aura, it wrapped itself around both of them. They let out intense screams of pain and anguish as the tails slowly crushed them until they disappeared into the air.

Naruto took a deep breath, it seemed impossible to stop Sakura at this point. He personally charged and threw a punch; Sakura caught his fist with her palm, and began to close her hand around his fist; he could feel his bones disintegrating and his muscles tearing in her grip. Sakura held him in place and delivered a right to his ribs.

He felt a huge shockwave rumble through his body, a pain the he had never felt before. Sakura lifted her right leg, and kicked him in the midsection, propelling him back towards Fukasaku; he landed with numerous crashes on the ground. He felt his ribs crack with the impact. His broken ribs began to move with every fall. A severing pain assaulted his body as they moved against one another..

He held his ribs with an injured hand, blood dripping down his chin through his mouth. Gasping for breath, he looked up in despair.

_I can't do it…Sasuke was right…I can't save her_

He opened his eyes and saw Sakura's legs directly in front of him.

_This is it._

He slowly shut his eyes again, and prepared for the worst.

But nothing happened.

He took a deep breath; it was almost as if he could hear droplets landing on the ground in front of him. He looked up and saw Sakura, with a raised fist, and tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Naruto…I-I'm…I'm sorry." She whispered. Naruto jolted up and caught Sakura, who closed her eyes and fell forward. Naruto caught her and held her in his arms as the Red Chakra subsided into nothing. Naruto's eyes filled with tears as he held her close.

The droplets fell down and streamed onto her face, washing away the blood that stained her skin. Fukasaku hurriedly hopped towards Naruto.

"Quickly now, Naruto! We must reach the mountain top immediately! The Nine-Tails has healed Sakura temporarily, but is also doing grave damage, we must reach the summit to harness the pure energies of Mount Myōboku!" Fukasaku commanded.

Naruto stood silent for a few moments, slowly taking what he had just seen. He took a deep breath and nodded. He slipped his arm under her legs and picked her up. He stood with wavering confidence with Sakura in his arms.

"Follow me!" Fukasaku shouted as he began to hop his way towards the summit. Naruto took a slightly annoyed breath and set his foot underneath Fukasaku, holding him steadily; he kicked up and sent Fukasaku onto his shoulder.

"Just tell me where to go!" he commanded.

"Forward!" Fukasaku replied.

Naruto reached the mountaintop within minutes, pain still tore at his ribs, and his hand seemed to be shattered. He saw a familiar sight; an elaborate seal embedded on the ground. Naruto acted on what he had done before, he gently set Sakura in the middle of it, and closed his eyes.

Regaining his focus, his Sage attributes returned. He focused his energy into his hands again and began the same healing process. A green aura cloaked his hands again.

"Remember, focus! Keep your mind clear!" Fukasaku commanded. He smiled with reassurance when he noticed Naruto's hand that kept a steady green glow, Naruto's eyes were closed, and his breathing was regular. The healing process seemed to be working very well.

Sakura began to move, her eyes began to twitch and her eyelids lifted to reveal that her eyes had lost their scarlet hue and regained their emerald color. She sat up as her body began to heal. Naruto's eyes filled with tears as he saw her move. He leaped forward and held her closer than he had ever before.

"It worked…" He gently whispered. "It actually worked." Sakura regained her wits and looked around.

"Naruto…Where are we?" She asked.

"You are currently located in…or, at…Mount Myōboku, young woman." Fukasaku answered. "I personally welcome you." He said with a smile.

"Thank you." Sakura replied with a bow. She looked over at Naruto. "I'm okay now, Naruto. We should head home." Naruto tightly hugged her again.

"Everyone will be happy to know that you're alive." He said quietly.

Away from his sight, he missed something.

A flash of fire still remained in Sakura's eyes.

* * *

On a last note, do you know what makes my day, _every_ _day_?

When I open up my email inbox and I see new messages from FanFiction.

Thank you all very much for your participation in voting, your follows, and your favorites.

When I say that I love you guys(and girls!) I mean it.

Knowing that people are enjoying my writing is one of the things that makes me feel better about myself.

Thank you, very much…for reading!


End file.
